A serpent and The Philosophers Stone
by Shadow Priesstes
Summary: After an other frustrating prank from the two people he hates the most storms Severus in his room and finds a rather interesting book...
1. A strange book and Thepart I

A/N: ok I know that there are already a five of these type of fictions…found the Community…, but not one in this style as I saw…

Gomen my brain is easily tempted to get fic ideas so bear with me and my twisted mind…

Disclaimer: Believe me if I would own this then you could bet that poor Severus would have survived or if not then the _Prologue_ would have been more longer with more surprises and I really think it should have ended after everyone got sorted in they new houses that would have been better…

I. A strange book and _The Boy Who Lived _part I.

* * *

It was a cold autumn day in November and most of the students were roaming outside enjoying that they classes have ended for the day, but one boy was not in a good mode, to be fully hones the boy was absolutely furious and would have more likely strangled the first person nearing him.

"THAT DAMNED MUT AND THAT FOUR EYED GOOD FOR NOTHING POTTER!!" roared the black haired boy as he stormed in the Slytherin common room nearly scaring the ones inside to death as he stormed in the third years dorminities.

Shutting the door behind him he walked up to his bed and let himself fall on the deep emerald green cowers. He was angry, exhausted, frustrated and sad. Why couldn't Black and Potter leave him for just one day? Was it such a big wish and what did he do to deserve being threatened like filth? He already received that home from his drunken father…well not since Lucius found out last year after seeing his bruises after a Quidditch match, since that spent he his summer usually in the Malfoy mayor with the sixth year Perfect who he considered his only real friend since Lilly. He even helped Lucius getting a date with Narcissa, who may be Black's cousin, but much nicer than that mut. He still couldn't forger that Whooping Willow- accident by which Black nearly killed him. At last now he was confirmed that Lupin was really a werewolf, not that it bothered him, but suddenly he felt irked to find a potion which could help the boy because when Lilly nor Lucius show up by accident when the two idiots can't leave him is it usually Lupin who tells them that it was enough, Severus has once read in a book that such transformations are rather painful.

Opening his dark eyes he suddenly noticed something on his night table. Sitting up he saw that it was a book, but he didn't remember putting it there. Picking it up he read the title out loud; _**Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. **_

"What? Is he in a way related to that idiot?" he asked confused as he flopped back down on his bed Indian stile and opened the book, nearly screaming in shock when he saw when it was released. A book from the future? He was now really eager about reading it. Well Lucius always says that he was sometimes to curious for his own good.

_**Chapter one: The Boy Who Lived **_

"What a strange title for a person." She said.

_**Mr. **__**and**__** Mrs. Dursley of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly **__**normal**__**, **__**thank**__**you**__**very**__**much**__**.**_

"Hmm…they are particularly screaming muggle, but in some way sounds Dursley rather familiar."

_**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.**_

_**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills.**_

"What an extremly exciting job…"

_**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large moustache.**_

"Are they sure that this is a human and not a walrus?" he ashed while raising a black brow.

_**Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbours. The Dursley's had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**_

"Who in they right mind names they son Dudley?"

_**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**_

"Aha…"

_**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years: in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish… **_

"Does such a word even exist?" Severus asked confused.

…_**as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbours would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that. When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, grey Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**_

"Brat"

_**None of them noticed a large tawny owl flutter past the window.**_

_**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek and tried to kiss Dudley goodbye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing cereal at the walls.**_

"Spoiled brat that child…" Severus said while surpressing the urge to want to hex the child.

_**"Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.**_

"_Little_…??" Severus said in disbelief as he re-read the sentence as to be sure that he didn't misread something. „That guy should let his eyes being checked…"

_**It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar - a cat reading a map.**_

"A cat reading a map?" then suddenly his eyes widened. "Professor McGonagall?" it had to be her she was the only Animagus he knew who had a cat as Animagi form.

_**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realise what he had seen -then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight.**_

"Becouse it got hidden obiously…hmm…ye she is a tabby cat so that could be her, but why is she there?"

_**What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive**__** - **__**No, looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs.**_

_**Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove towards town, he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.**_

"Someones eager there…" he said sarcastically.

_**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.**_

"What! Have they gone mad to not bother dressing as Muggles?" Severus asked in disbelief. "The Ministry will not like this."

_**Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes - the get-ups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdoes standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt - these people were obviously collecting for something ... yes, that would be it.**_

"Vould you like to bet ont hat Dursley…?" Severus asked with an evil grin on his pale lips.

_**The traffic moved on, and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings car park, his mind back on drills.  
Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning.**_

_**He didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though the people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead.**_

"They should be more carefull with the owl post, most Muggles have only seen an owl int he ZOO."

_**Most of them had never seen an owl even at night time. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled a five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. He was in a very good mood until lunch-time, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the baker's opposite.**_

_**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This lot were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**_

_**"The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard -"  
"- yes, their son, Harry **_**–" **

"Hmm…now it is starting to get interesting."

_**Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it.**_

_**He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone and had almost finished dialling his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his moustache, thinking...**_

_**No, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name. **_

"Uhh…well that is true…" he said.

_**He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew was called Harry. He'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold. There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her - if he'd had a sister like that... but all the same, those people in cloaks...**_

"What is wrong with us wearing cloaks they are great. Tce…that guy sounds like my father when he is miraceusly sobber for a minute…" Severus snapped.

_**He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon, and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**_

_**"Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell.**_

"Wow, now I'm truly impressed he knows how to apologize." Severus said sarcastically.

_**It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realised that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice-**_

"…Professor Flitwick?" _'Whi in Melin's name are already two of his teachers int he Muggle world and why was everyone so careless?"_

_**that made passers-by stare: "Don't be sorry my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like your self should be celebrating this happy, happy day!"**_

At that Severus suddenly stopped and paled.

"…Geone…? WHAT DO YOU MEAN GONE!!" he screamed giving nearly everyone in the common room a heart attack.

_**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.  
Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was.**_

_**He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**_

_**As he pulled into the driveway at number four, the first thing he saw - and it didn't improve his mood - was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.**_

_**"Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.**_

"If tat is really her than this will not wrk and if we are already by the theme…HOW DARE YOU FILTHY WORTHLESS SCUM OF A MUGGLE SAY SOMETHING SO DEGRADING LIKE THAT TO HER!! He reared while glaring dagger at the book with his best death look, not noticing the whimpers which come from the comon room.

_**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look.**_

"I like it when she looks at Black and Potter with that look." Severus said grinning.

_**Was this normal cat behaviour, Mr. Dursley wondered? Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**_

_**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learnt a new word (Shan't).**_

"Wow such an incredible exciting day I'm really jaelous…not."

**Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living-room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

_**"And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The news reader allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"**_

_**"Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain that I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars!**_

_**Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early**__**. **__**It's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."**_

"Why do I get the strange feeling that a wizard has his heands in this one?"

_**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters...Mrs. Dursley came into the living-room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er - Petunia, dear - you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"**_

Severus's dark eyes suddenly widened in panic ac realization daned on him. "Pat…" now he rmembered where he had heard the name Dursley, Lilly had told him that Pat's boyfriends name was Vernon Dursley, but that meant…

"ONLY OVER MY DEATH BODY WILL THAT FOUR EYED IDIOT MARRY HER!! I WILL NOT ALLOWE HIM TO TOUCH HER!!" he was so deep in ranting that he didn't notice opening and a boy with pale skin and long pale blond hair poking his head inside carefully, concern written over his features.

"Severus…?" he asked carefully.

"…I WILL PERSONALLY SKIN HI…oh…hay Lucius." He said blushing in embressement as the other walked inside.

"You nearly scared everyone int he common room to death." He said grinning as he reached the bed.

"Oh…sorry…" he said.

"Don't worry, I have heard what happened today. You should sleep a little bit."

"But I'm not ti…" Severus tryed to potest, but every word died in his thoath as the older boy put the book ont he night table and leaned over the dak haired boy, making him blush as he tucked him under the covers.

"Sleep a bit Sev." Lucius said while smiling as he pulled a lose strain of black hair behind the ear of the younger boy. Then with cat like steps he walked to the door, turning around one last time. "As I already sayd sleep a bit, and int he meantime I go and punish Black and Potter." And with that he closed the door.

Severus blinked after him for while then decided to follow Lucius's advice and get a little sleep.

_To be continued… _

* * *

A/N: so his was the first chapter of the fic and I'm somewhat tired, not surprising it is two int he morning…


	2. A strange book and Thepart II

A/N: ok first of all thank you for the reviews and now here is the next chapter…

P.S.: and gomen for the spelling mistakes I finished this at two in the morning and didn't notice that my comp messed it up…

II. A strange book and _The Boy __Who __Lived _part II.

* * *

It was on the next morning when Severus's dark eyes carefully opened only to stare in to two gray-blue ones.

"Gahh…Lucius!" he jumped up in sudden shock as he saw the other boy.

"Morning Severus, I got you breakfast." He said smiling, but then his face become concerned again. "Will you be alright alone in the castle?" he asked the younger boy.

It was Hogsmose weekend and he knew that, that muggle filth of a father didn't sign Severus's allowance to go with the others. He was always concerned about the boy, he was intelligent and had a great talent in potions and defense against dark arts and he had no doubt that he had already learned most of the dark spells they were shown how to protect themselves against them, but with that father…Lucius would have loved to use all three unforgivable hexes on that man.

"Yes I will be fine Lucius, have fun with Narcissa." He said smiling as the other blushed. Not many knew, but Malfoys tended to get all nervous and shy around the person they truly fell in love with and Severus had no doubt that Lucius's father would approve his son's love and even help then Narcissa was a goldblood, a Slytherin and also member of the Noble Black Family, a certain mut not counted, so she was perfect.

"Ok…I will get you a little present." The blond said grinning as he stood up from the bed and left.

Sighing Severus took the plate with different food on it in his lap and started eating his breakfast. After finishing he grabbed the book and left the room to go outside and read on the fresh air.

Reaching his favorite spot under an old oak tree he sat down and opened the book to continue. He was still somewhat shocked that he will loose Lilly to Potter and that this book was probably about they future son, his stomach gave a painful lunch at that thought.

_**As he expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.  
"No," she said sharply. "Why?"  
"**__**Funny **__**stuff **__**on **__**the **__**news**__**," Mr. Dursley **__**mumbled**__**. "**__**Owls**__**... **__**shooting**__**stars**__**... **__**and **__**there **__**were**__** a **__**lot **__**of **__**funny-looking **__**people **__**in **__**tow n**__**today**__**..."  
"**__**So**__**?" **__**snapped**__** Mrs. Dursley.  
"**__**Well**__**, I **__**just **__**thought**__**... **__**maybe**__** ... **__**it **__**was **__**something **__**to **__**do **__**with**__** ... **__**you **__**know**__** ... **__**her**__**l ot**__**." **_

"_Her__lot__…? __Funny__looking people? _WHAT DOES THAT GUY THINK WE ARE SOME CIRCUS CLOWNS!!" Severus yelled angered. "Pat I can't believe that you changed that much since back then…what happened you and Lilly were always so close…" he said in a sad tone as he remembered the good times when the three of them were always playing together in the forest near Spinner's End, laughing and having fun together.

_**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name 'Potter'.**_

_**He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son - he'd be about Dudley's age now wouldn't he?"  
"I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.  
"What's his name again? Howard isn't it?"  
"Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**_

"Pat, if I remember right you always liked the name Harry…" Severus said.

_**Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."  
He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it was waiting for something.  
Was he imagining things?**_

"Eh…didn't you say that you don't approve any kind of imagination?"

_**Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did ... if it got out that they were related to a pair of - well, he didn't think he could bear it.  
The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind ... He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on. He yawned and turned over. It couldn't affect them ...  
How very wrong he was**_.

"Believe me, everyone can be affected by magic and you can't do nothing against it."

_**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed in the next street, nor when the two owls swooped overhead**__._

_**In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**_

_**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground.**_

_**The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**_

_**Nothing like this man had been seen in Privet Drive. He was tall, thin and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt.**_

"Okayy…first Professor McGonagall, then Professor Flitwick and now the Headmaster…what in Merlin's name is happening there a teacher conference?" he asked confused.

_**He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak which swept the ground and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**_

_**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realise that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realise he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**_

_**He had found what he was looking for in his inside pocket.**_

_**It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop**_

"Wow…"

_**He clicked it again - the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left in the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him.**_

_**If anyone looked out of their window now, even the beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street towards number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat.**_

_**He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.  
"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**_

"I knew it! It was really her." Severus said smiling, something most thought he was not capable of, but the truth was that he could smile, but his smiles were only reserved for the five people he cared for.

_**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.**_

_**"How did you know it was me?" she asked.**_

_**"My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**_

_**"You'd be stiff too if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.**_

_**"All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."**_

_**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**_

_**"Oh yes, everyone's celebrating all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no - even the Muggles noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls ... shooting stars ... Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent - I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**_

"Diggle? Isn't he a Hufflepuff in Lucius's year?" he remembered the name when from that time when Lucius was screaming death threats at him for a hex which turned his hair pink last year. He had really problems with dragging the "blond" away before he really killed the boy.

_**You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."**_

"Eleven more years of terror…" he said bitterly.

_**"I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes swapping rumours."**_

_**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on: "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?"**_

_**"It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a sherbet lemon?"**_

_**"A what?"**_

_"__**A sherbet lemon. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."**_

_**"No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for sherbet lemons.**_

_**"As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone -"**_

_**"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like your self can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense - for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort".**_

"He is still fond of those?" he asked confused. "But I need to agree this 'You-Know-Who' is starting to get annoying…" he said with a sigh.

_**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was un-sticking two sherbet lemons, seemed not to notice.**_

_**"It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort' s name."**_

"That is true…"

_**"I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half-exasperated, half-admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the one You-Know - oh, all right, Voldemort -was frightened of"**_

"Yes, she said his name and that is true about the two."

_**"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**_

_**"Only because you're too - well - noble to use them."**_

_**"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."**_

Severus stared grossed out at the book. "That was definitely an information I really didn't need to know…" he said while shaking his head violently to get the images away.

_**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing to the rumours that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?" It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now.**_

_**It was plain that whatever 'everyone' was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another sherbet lemon and did not answer.**_

_**"What they're saying," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumour is that Lily and James Potter**_

"What…what is with Lilly…?" he asked in a scared tone, his stomach knotting painfully.

_**are - are - that they're - dead.**_

Suddenly the book slipped out of his hands as his body took int he horryble information.

"Lilly…Lilly is death…" he whispered as hot tears run down his checks. He couldn't believe it…no he wouldn't believe itt hat Lilly was gone.

That was not fair…

_**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**_

_**"Lily and James ... I can't believe it ... I didn't want to believe it ... Oh, Albus ..."**_

_**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know ... I know ..." he said heavily.**_

_**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry.**_

"WHAT!!" he yelled in anger and sadness.

_**"But - he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke - and that's why he's gone."**_

"The Dark Lord…was defeated by a child…" he said in a shocked voice.

_**Dumbledore nodded glumly.  
"It's - it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done ... all the people he's killed ... he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding ...of all the things to stop him ... but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**_

_**"we can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**_

_**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took out a watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**_

_**"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?"**_

_**"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle.**_

"DUMBLEDORE CAN'T BE SERIOUS!! If Pat would be still the same as the person I knew her then ok, but…where the heck are Black, Lupin and Pettigrew or me?"

_**They're the only family he has left now."**_

_**You don't mean - you can't mean the people who live here?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore - you can't."**_

"I fully agree with her." He said shocked at that what the Headmaster was planning.

_**I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son - I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"**_

_**"It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**_

"A letter? Is the Headmaster slowly going senile?"

_**"A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him!**_

"That is an understatement…"

_**He'll be famous - a legend - I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter Day in future - there will be books written about Harry - every child in our world will know his name!"**_

_**"Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even **_

_**remember! Can't you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**_

"Yes that is a good point, but still…"

_**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed and then said, "Yes - yes, you're right, of course.**_

"What the…she never backs down…" he said shocked.

_**But how is the boy getting here Dumbledore?"**_

_**She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**_

"Ugh…I really hope not…"

_**"Hagrid's bringing him."**_

_**You think it - wise - to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**_

_**"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**_

_**"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to - what was that?"**_

"What?"

_**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky - and a huge motorbike fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**_

"That is sometjing Black would surelly want to have."

_**If the motorbike was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild - long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of dustbin lids and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**_

_**"Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorbike?"**_

_**"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorbike as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it me."**_

"I will not say anything…" Severus said while rolling his eyes.

_**I've got him, sir."**_

_**"No problems, were there?"**_

_**"No, sir - house was almost destroyed but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we were flyin' over Bristol."**_

_**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**_

"Oh Merlin no…he will look like Potter…" Severus whined at the image of a second James Potter.

_**"Is that where - ?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**_

_**"Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar for ever."**_

_**"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**_

_**"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in useful. I have one myself above my left knee which is a perfect map of the London Underground. Well - give him here, Hagrid - we'd better get this over with."**_

_**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned towards the Dursleys' house.**_

_**"Could I - could I say goodbye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid.**_

_**He bent his great shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss.**_

_**Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**_

"To bad Black isn't here to hear this." He said grinning evilly.

_**"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall. "You'll wake the Muggles!"**_

_**"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it - Lily an' James dead - an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles -"**_

_**"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets and then came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**__._

_**"Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**_

_**Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice. "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall - Professor Dumbledore, sir."**_

"But why isn't Black there got get the boy wh…" with that he slepped his forehead "…that dumb mut is probably going after the Death Eaters, so typicall Black…really"

_**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself on to the motorbike and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**_

_**"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply**__._

_**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street.**_

_**He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.  
"Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak he was gone.**_

_**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley ...He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter - the boy who lived!"**_

"So this was the end of the first chapter, should I read the rest?" he asked himself. "It can't hurt and maybye I can find a way to save Lilly from death." He said as he opened the book by the second chapter."

_To be continued…_

* * *

A/N: so this was the end of the first chapter…


	3. Learning to know

A/N: ok I just got a rather new twist idea for this story, the title will not change as you will know why in a short time plus I'm planning to use all seven books…

III. Learning to know and _The __Vanishing Glass _

* * *

"Hmm…now that sounds interesting." Severus said as his curiosity got the better of him again.

"What sounds interesting?" asked suddenly a voice from behind him which made Severus jump in shock. "Uh…sorry Snape…"

Turning around sharply Severus noticed no one other then Remus Lupin standing behind him with an unsure smile on his lips.

"Shouldn't you be with your babysitting charges Lupin?" he asked the other boy sharply.

"They are in Hogsmoese, my father thought that it was better if I don't go down there…" he said while looking to the side, he knew that he was allowed to go, but the truth was that he felt still guilty about that what Sirius had done to the boy. He couldn't believe that his friend's prank nearly killed the other.

"He doesn't like the fact about you that you are a lycanthrop." Severus said and suddenly were two amber eyes staring at him panicked. "I had the feeling that something wasn't right since first year and then by that accident with that damned tree I finally had my prof."

"I…I…"what could he say?

Severus only shook his head and grabbed the boy by his arm and pulled him down to sit beside him under the tree.

"Calm down I don't have a problem with that so…uhm…" now how should he say that? And beside why was he doing this…oh right so that the others believed him and he could save Lily. It was better to lose her to Potter then to death like his mother. "…uhm…yesterday I found this book and I think that it is from the future."

"What? Are you serious?" Remus asked shocked and it only increased when he saw the date of the publication. "I can't believe it, so what happened so far?" Remus knew that Sirius and James would flip that he dares to socialize with the Slytherin, but Remus had the feeling that they actions are sometimes to harsh and there was also that what happened yesterday…

_

* * *

_

_Flashback_

_Both James and Sirius lay panting on the ground after Lucius Malfoy finished with them. He was already walking away when he suddenly spotted Remus as he come to help his friends. _

"_Sometimes I would like to know what type of sick fun it gives your two friends to torment Severus." The blond said coldly. _

"_I know that both Sirius and James overdo it sometimes…" but he was cut of by a furious Lucius. _

"_Sometimes…sometimes! Listen Lupin if Severus wants to be harassed, humiliated, hurt or taunted then that he can get home from his damned abusive and alcoholic muggle father." He hissed and Remus stared shocked at him. _

"_What?" _

"_Ah you didn't know since his mother died when he was nine become Severus the main point in taking his father's rage and if I hadn't found that out last year by accident after a Quidditch match what he needs to suffer through I don't even want to know what Severus would have had done to himself." And with that he stormed of to look after the younger boy he defended and to make sure that he didn't have any nightmares again. _

_End Flashback _

* * *

Remus felt horrible after fully understanding what Lucius meant, his own father had a problem with him, but he never hurt him. He needed to make some things good what his two friends made wrong.

"You haven't missed much." Severus said as he filled the other in what he read in the first chapter.

"Ja…James and Lilly…killed…" Remus couldn't believe it, one of his friends…

Severus watched the other boy as suddenly said boy was clutching his cloak as if his live would depend on it and crying in his shoulder. Confused what to do he suddenly remembered what Lucius did when he once woke up scared from a horrible nightmare. Wrapping his arms carefully around the other boy he hugged him closer and let a hand softly trail around his back to calm him. It seemed to work then Remus's crying become soft sobs and then they stopped.

"Better now?" Severus asked unsure as Remus lifted his head to look in to his eyes, a little smile and blush on his face.

"Yes, thank you Severus…" he said and the other looked shocked at him, this was the first time he called him by his first name.

"Your welcome Remus, I think we should read now, would you like to read the chapter?" the other nodded and took the book in his lap, still close to the dark haired boy as suddenly a note fell to the ground.

"What is that?" Remus asked as he picked it up and started to read it out loud.

_**To Severus Tobias Snape, **_

_**We hope that you have successfully received the book which contains the happenings of Mr. Potter's first year. As you can guess from the sentence there are seven books equall to the seven years in Hogwarts. We would like to ask you to go down to the deserted hall on the fourth floor with the person you are together at the moment. You will get more information there. **_

_**With respect **_

_**C.M.S. **_

_**L.D.M. **_

_**R.N.M.**_

_**D.H.W.**_

_**K.L.S. **_

_**R.H.P**_

After reading the massage both boys stared at each other for a while, unsure about what they should do.

"Erm…I think we should fellow the advice…" said Severus after a while and Remus nodded.

* * *

After reaching they destination both boys were surprised to be standing in front of the portrait of the former Headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black.

"I see you boys have arrived." He said.

"Yes Sir."

"Well then children follow this hallway till you reach the statue of the Black Dragon and point both of your wands at his heart and then say "_Draconium alohora"_ and it will reveal a door, walk inside I will be waiting for you." And with that he walked away.

Both boys did as they were told and now were they standing in the middle of a large room which looked like the cross between a common room, a library and a study room, a soft fire and candles gave the room light, letting the dark ebony table and selves shine in a mysterious light. As they looked round they suddenly noticed that the room's dominant colors, were emerald green and a dark shade of sapphire blue.

"Where are we?" asked Remus fascinated by the room.

"Uhm…Remus…I think you should see this…" at that Remus looked around for the dark haired boy and surely spotted him in front of the fireplace, looking somewhat pale, but also amazed.

"What is it?" he asked as he reached the boy to look at that what he was pointing at. Suddenly his amber eyes widened and now he understood the dominating colors of the room then there carved in the stone of the fireplace were the house emblems of Salazar Slytherin and Rowena Ravenclaw bound together.

"Yes this was the private room of two of the founders, now now children don't look so shocked it is not unknown that both Slytherin and Ravenclaw enjoyed each others company just as Gryffindor enjoyed Hufflepuff's company most of the times because of they similarities." Phineas said and Remus thought for a brief second that the portrait was addressing Severus with his explanation. "Well then I did half of my part, the others who need to be present will be here in a second, and then I will continue."

The two of them didn't even had time to ask who he meant then suddenly a green vortex appeared above them and out of it fell Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa and Sirius Black, Lily Evans, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Frank Longbottom, Alice Feris, Arthur Weasley and Molly Prewett landing _gracefully_ on each other.

"Oww…Jamey, did you see which gigant tramped over me?" Sirius whined.

"No Paddy, but at the moment I'm somewhat bound down." said James, sounding somewhat annoyed.

"Sirius…not that I don't find this pose rather favorable, BUT NOT WITH YOU AND THAT IDIOT POTTER ON TOP OF ME!!" Sirius suddenly paled as he looked down to notice that he was sitting on James who was on top of Narcissa who was on top of a furiously blushing Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy's can blush?

"Cissa…?" he asked dumbfaulted.

"Get down Sirius, really you need to go on a bloody diet." She hissed and he immediately jumped up.

"Where are we? Oh hay Sev, hello Remus." Said Lily smiling and suddenly all eyes turned to the two boys.

"Moony!! What the heck are you doing with Snivellus here!!" yelled Sirius.

"Say that again Black and you are done." Hissed Lucius as he stood beside Severus, wand drawn.

"Sit down children and I will explain." Said Phineas Nigellus before a war broke out and everyone settled down. "You all who are in this secret room are assigned to read the seven books which come from the future. Read them all and judge only then about the other and try to change that what was done wrong, that is the only wish of the ones sending you them. The first book has already arrived. I will stay near here and now read. And for the time being forget the freud between the Houses Slytherin and Gryffindor." He said in a stern voice.

"And you think that I'm interested in this." Said Sirius, but the glare he received from his great-great-grandfather made him flinch and turn to the others grinning. "So who starts?"

"Erm…that was frightening…" whispered Frank to James who nodded together with Arthur.

"I will fill you in about what was in the first chapter and Remus is reading the second chap." Said Severus and the others nodded and after everyone calmed down about the news of Voldemort's disappearance, the death of Lily and James, by which Sirius needed to be stopped ranting with a silencing charm and several growling about Dumbledore's "_brilliant"_ idea plus Sirius's happy screams about having a flying motorbike could Remus finally start reading.

_**Chapter Two: The Vanishing Glass**_

"Do you think that this happened because of accidental magic?" Frank asked and the others nodded.

"But a rather advanced one." Pointed out Lucius.

"That is true."

"Lily flower…you are agreeing with a Slytherin…" James whined.

"First I'm not your '_Lily flower'_ and second he is right." She said while glaring at him. "_And in difference to you is he taking care of Severus." _

_**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bobble hats - but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby,**_

"Oh what a miracle…" said Sirius sarcastically.

"Shut up Padfoot and let Moony read." Come it from James.

"I'm agreeing with my cousin about the miracle part."

"Wow, thanks Cissa…" Said Sirius stunned.

"Your welcome." She said smiling.

"Remus continue please." Said Lily.

"Ok."

_**and now the photographs showed a large, blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a roundabout at the fair, playing a computer game with his father,**_

"A what?" asked nearly half of the group.

"A little divice with games on it." Said Severus.

"And you know that? Oh right Muggle Studies." Said James.

"Well Potter it might surprise you, but I'm a half-blood." At that everyone except, Lily, Lucius, Narcissa and Remus gasped in shock.

"You…you are actually a half…"

"Yes Potter my father is a muggle." He said in a bitter tone and Lucius put a reasuring hand on his shoulder while letting out a little growl which confused most of them.

_**being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too**_

At that everyone started glaring at the book.

_**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake, and it was her shrill voice which made the first noise of the day.**_

_**"Up! Get up! Now!"**_

"PETUNIA FOR MERLIN'S SHAKE!" said two angered voices and every gaze turned to Lily and Severus.

"What, I have also a right to get angry when Pat is acting like this." Said the dark haired boy.

"Pat?"

"Ah right you didn't know that Severus and I know each other since we were two, we were neighbors actually, but we moved away when I turned nine and before that were we two and my sister the best friends. I was really happy when I met Sev again on the train to Hogwarts then now I knew that I had atleast one best friend there and wouldn't be alone." Lily said smiling at Seveus who was smiling back at her, while everyone watched this was James turning paler with every word. 

_"This is a nightmare..." _he thought. "Would you please excuse me…" he said as he walked like a zombie in the nearest closet and shut the door.

_**GGGGAAAAAAHHHHH!! WHY IN MERLIN'S NAME COULDN'T NO ONE TELL ME THAT BEFORE!!**_

As the door opened again was the whole group covering together in panic.

"We can continue." He said smiling and everyone nodded in panic and Remus nearly dropped the book.

_**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.  
"Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking towards the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the cooker. He rolled on to his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorbike in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**_

"Of course and it was mine, but why didn't I come to take Harry away?" Sirius asked while everyone looked thoughtful.

"I think we will find it out in the other books." Said Lucius.

"Yes that might be."

_**His aunt was back outside the door.  
"Are you up yet?" she demanded.  
"Nearly," said Harry.**_

_**"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**_

At that was everyone trying not to laugh.

_**Harry groaned.  
"What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.  
"Nothing, nothing ..."  
Dudley's birthday - how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on. Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.**_

"HE WHAT!!" roared everyone in anger.

"PETUNIA WHEN I GET HOME…"

"Even our house elves have they own room." Said Lucius looking furious.

"Pat I really can't believe you…" Severus hissed dissapointed by his friend.

_**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had got the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike.**_

"…."

_**Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise - unless of course it involved punching somebody. Dudley's favorite punch-bag was Harry,**_

"WHAT!!"

"That's it I'm hexing my sister back to the stone age."

"We are helping." Come it from everyone in the room even the Slytherin side.

_**but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.**_

"That is good son,…Sirius where the bloody hell are you?" asked James his best friend angrily.

"I really don't know Prongs." Sirius said a bit frightened as he tryed to make a distance between himself and James.

_**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age.**_

"No, that is perfectly normal for a Potter." The others nodded in approval.

_**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was.**_

_**Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair and bright-green eyes.**_

"Oh no…a second Prongs…" Sirius said in panic.

"Really funny guys…" come it from a sulking James.

"Aww…he has my eyes." Coed Lily.

"I also want a child." Come it from the other three females in the room which made three certain guys exchange nervous looks with each other.

_**He wore round glasses held together by a lot of Sellotape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose.**_

Everyone was back to surpressing the urge to hex the book.

_**The only thing Harry liked about his appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead which was shaped like a bolt of lightning. He had had it as long as he could remember and the first question he could ever remember asking his aunt was how he had got it.  
"In the car crash when your parents died,"**_

"WHAT!!" yelled everyone.

"PETUNIA YOU LIAR!!"

"THAT IS A SCANFAL!!" Lucius and Narcissa screamed in anger.

_**she had said. "and don't ask questions."**_

_**Don't ask questions - that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.  
Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.**_

"Slave labor!" muttered James, angrily while the others nodded and glared at the book.

_**"Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**_

"That will not help." James said while the other Marauders nodded.

_**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way - all over the place.**_

_**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large, pink face, not muck neck, small, watery blue eyes and thick, blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel - Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**_

At that everyone bust out laughing hysterically and were now rolling on the ground with tears in they eyes.

_**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile was counting his presents. His face fell.**_

_**"Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**_

At that everyone stopped laughing and stared with unbelieving eyes at the book.

"He actually gets thirty-nine presents?" Sirius asked unbelieving. "Even Regulus doeasn't get that many and he is my mothers favorite!"

"Even I don't get that many!" at that everyone stared wide eyed at Lucius.

"You bloody Dursleys, even Malfoy here doesn't get so spoiled like your pig of a child!" Jelled James at the book.

_**"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy."**_

"He still refers to his parents as Mummy and Daddy?" asked Remus incredulously.

"Even Lucius and me aren't doing this since we were six." Come it from Narcissa.

"Even Regulus stopped with that and he is five…"

_**"All right then, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face.**_

"Spoiled brat."

_**Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.**_

"Good instinct son."

"Harry please chew that bacon." Come it from the four females at once.

"Mother instincts…" explained Severus to the other boys who nodded.

_**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another **__**two**__** presents while we're out today. How's that popkin? **__**Two**__** more presents. Is that all right?"**_

"No Petunia, this is wrong." Lily said.

"She is totally spoiling her own child." Said Narcissa. "Lily dear when you go home for the winter holidays I'm coming with you to have a talk with your sister." Said the blond as she grabbed the redhead's hands.

"That would be wonderful Narcissa." Lily said.

"Erm…Prongs, I think Lily and my cousin are starting to become friends…and...my cousin is nice..." whispered Sirius to his friend.

"Yes…but can you believe it, all this time I wanted to get a date with Lily and she always dumped me and now I know why…she…she was since she was little best friends with Snivellus and that is the ground why she is always angry at me…" James whispered back.

"Yep, would have worked better if you had known earlier." Sirius said symphatically.

"You tell me..." he whines as his head dropped.

_**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work.**_

"I bet it was!" muttered Sirius.

"That is an easy bet."

_**Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty ... thirty ..."**_

"He can't be serious…even Regulus can that!"

"For Merlin's shake even I can do that." Come it from Peter.

"Yes!"

_**"Thirty nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**_

_**"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."**_

_**Uncle Vernon chuckled. "Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair**__._

_**At that moment the telephone rang**_

"Muggles use itt to talk with each other." Come it from Sirius and everyone stared shocked at him.

"Si…Sirius…"

"What, I paid attention in Muggle Studies." He said and was suddenly laying flat on his back with Narcissa sitting on him looking worryed, her pale hand on his forehead. "Cissa…"

"He doesn't have fever so that means only one thing. Who are you and what did you do to my cousin." She hissed.

"Cissa calm down, it is really me and as for the other thing I found the class interesting." He said as she let him sit up. "Really guys…Moony continue."

"What, oh right…"

_**and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a cine-camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games and a video recorder. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone, looking both angry and worried.**_

_**"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction.**_

_**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday his parents took him and a friend to, adventure parks, hamburger bars or the cinema. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away.**_

"Could she mean Arabella Figg, the squid?" asked Remus, the others only shrugged.

_**Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at all the cats she'd ever owned.**_

"Ugh," shuddered James. "Cabbages _and_ cats. What a horrible combination."

"I happen to like cats." Said Severus, but imediately blushed as Lucius, Lily and Narcissa started grinning at him.

"Paddy do you think that we missed somethig?"

"Could be Prongs."

_**"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this.**_

_**Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, My Paws and Tufty again.**_

_**"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.**_

_**"Don't be silly Vernon, she hates the boy."**_

_**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there - or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.**_

At that everyone conjuncted a peace of pergamen and a quill and started scribbling on it like mad. They would put the lists together after they were ready with the book.

_**"What about what's-her-name, your friend - Yvonne?"**_

"They are still friends?" Lily asked shocked.

_**"On holiday in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.**_

_**"You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer.)**_

_**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.**_

"Charming." Come it from Lucius.

"Really attractive." Said James joining in.

_**"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.**_

"Great idea." Come it from the boys except Severus and Remus.

"Boys…"

"Sorry…"

_**"I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**_

_**"I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "... and leave him in the car ..."**_

_**"That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone ..."**_

"As if it would kill you to be once nice to him." Said Alice.

_**Dudley began to cry loudly.**_

"Baby…"

_**In fact he wasn't really crying, it had been years since he'd really cried, but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.**_

"Brat!" declared everyone int he room looking annoyed.

_**"Dinky Duddydums,**_

Everyone burst out laughing again at this, it was to funny.

_**don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.**_

"What a mammy's boy…" the others nodded and Sirius made up his mind, against this "_boy"_ was Regulus a mature man.

_**"I ... don't ... want ... him ... t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.**_

_**Just then, the doorbell rang - "Oh, Good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically - and a moment later, Dudley's best friend Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother.**_

_**Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat.**_

"I feel personally insulted by this sentence." Said Peter.

"We understand that." Said Remus while three Slytherin looked confused at them.

_**He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them.**_

"How thoughtfull of him." Said Lucius sarcastically.

_**Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.**_

"So it's only cool to cry in front of Mummy!" exclaimed Sirius, exchanging grins with James and the other boys.

_**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life.**_

"Finally."

_**His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**_

_**"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's,**_

"Ugh…" come it from everyone as they suddenly felt sick.

_**"I'm warning you now, boy -**_

"HIS NAME HIS HARRY - YOU IDIOT!" bellowed James angrily as he started writing on his list again.

_**any funny business, anything at all - and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."**_

_**"I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly ..."**_

_**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No ever did.  
The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen.**_

"Accidental magic, perfectly normal." Come it from everyone.

_**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barber's looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his fringe, which she left 'to hide that horrible scar'.**_

"HEY! HE CAN'T HELP IT! HIS HAIR GROWS THAT WAY, LIKE MINE!" roared James.

_**Dudley laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and his Sellotaped glasses. Next morning, however, he had got up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off.**_

"That's my son! Good job Harry!"

_**He had been given a week in his cupboard for this,**_

"THOSE BLOODY GITS!!" James and Sirius roared in anger while the others started scribling on they lists again.

_**even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly.**_

"That is becouse you are a wizard dear." Said Molly softly as if Harry would stand in front of her.

_**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old jumper of Dudley's (brown with orange bobbles). The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a glove puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry.**_

"Your sister is extremly lacking on taste." Lucius pointed out.

"I know that since she intreduced Vernon to us…"

_**Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**_

"Puh…"

_**On the other hand, he'd got into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens.**_

"Wow…"

_**Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual**__**when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney.**_

"Don't tell me he…"

"That…that…"

"Wow…"

"Lily…did that book just say that our son Apparated…" James asked shocked.

"I think yes…"

"YES!! MY SON IS THE BEST!!"

"Potter calm down." Said Severus as he pulled James back down.

_**The Dursley's had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big bins outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump.**_

_**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living-room.**_

_**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. **_

"Doesn't he have someone other to complayn about?" Remus asked.

_**This morning, it was motorbikes. "... roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorbike overtook them.**_

_**"I had a dream about a motorbike," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."**_

_**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beetroot with a moustache, "MOTORBIKES DON'T FLY!"**_

"Do to, I have one. Ok where the bloody hell am I to leave the boy with those muggles."

"I don't know mate, but I'm starting to worry that no one of you three come."

_**Dudley and Piers snickered.**_

_**"I know they don't," said Harry. **__"__**It was only a dream."**_

_**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even in a cartoon - they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas**_**.**

"Great he isn't even allowed to have an imagination." Growled Alice.

_**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with people. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice-creams at the entrance and then,**__**because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice lolly.**_

"That is a nice lady." Come it from Arthur.

_**It wasn't bad either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head and looking remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond.**_

"That is an insult against us blondes, but his cousin is a bigger insult." Said Narcissa, the others laughed.

_**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him.**_

_**They ate in the zoo restaurant and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbockers glory wasn't big enough, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**_

"That was atleast a bit nice."

_**Harry felt, afterwards, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**_

Everyone was glaring again at the book.

_**After lunch they went to the reptile house.**_

"YAY!" yelled the three Slyherin happily and Sirius looked also excited.

"You know that it is rather interesting to find out that Slytherin are also normal people?" Arthur whispered to Frank.

"Yes, I'm also stunned about this."

_**It was cool and dark in here, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone.**_

_**Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place.**_

_**It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car, and crushed it into a dustbin –**_

"That would be wounderfull."

"Good thinking Sev." Said Sirius, to excited to notice that he called the boy by his reall name or that same boyx looked now at him shocked.

_**but at the moment it didn't look in the mood.**_

"Awww…"

"Sirius, stop acting like a little child."

"But Remy…" Sirius whined.

"Sirius, I'm warning you." At that the other stopped.

"Good doggy." At that looked the three Slytherin confused at each other, but decided not to ask.

_**In fact, it was fast asleep.**_

_**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils**__._

_**"Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.**_

_**"Do it again," Dudley ordered**_

_**Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.**_

_**"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.**_

"What do you think how that poor snake feels." Said the three Slytherin in union, defending they poor house animal.

"I can understand that." Said Alice and Molly nodded.

_**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself - no company except people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard for a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up - at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**_

_**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were level with Harry's.  
**__**It winked.**_

Suddenly everyone went silente.

"Erm…guys…did that snake just wink at my son?" James asked.

"I think yes…"

"WHY IS A SNAKE WINKING AT MY SON!!"

"James calm down." Said Frank.

"_That is impossible…, there are only two of us left and Potter's line belongs to…" _Severus was confused.

_**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**_

"HARRY STOP WINKING TO THE SNAKE!"

"Potter calm down." said Lucius.

"Calm down...calm down! My son is winking to a snake!!"

"James sit..." said lilly annoyed.

_**The snake jerked its head towards Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly: "I get that all the time."**_

"Harry, I as your father forbidd you to talk to that snake." James said while pointing at the book.

_**"I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying."**_

_**The snake nodded vigorously.  
"Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked.**_

"I give up…" said James as he sat down again, head bowed. "My son is having a conversation with a snake..."

_**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.  
Boa Constrictor, Brazil.  
"Was it nice there?"**_

_**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see - so you've never been to Brazil?"**_

_**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. " DUDLEY! MR DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!"**_

_**Dudley came waddling towards them as fast as he could. "Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs.**_

James opened his mouth to shout again, but Remus preformed a Silencing Charm on him in the right time.

"I will take it down if you will not shout." James nodded and Remus took the spell down.

_**Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened - one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror.**_

"What'd he do?" asked Sirius eagerly, the others also looking excited.

_**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished.**_

At that everyone cheered.

_**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out on to the floor - people throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.**_

_**as the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, " Brazil, here I come ... Thanksss, amigo."**_

For a while there was a great silence.

"MY SON IS A PARSELTONGUE!!" James yelled in shock while the others gapped.

"_That can't be…he isn't from our line…" _

"Well atleast we now know that snakes can be polite." Lily said.

_"Hmm...this is trully interesting and most of all unexpected." _Thought Phineas's portrait who was watching the children.

_**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.**_

_**"But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"**_

_**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg,**_

"Wish it had done so!" muttered James the other nodded.

_**while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death.**_

_**But, worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**_

"YOU EVIL LITTLE GIT!!"

_**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go - cupboard - stay - no meals,"**_

_**before he collapsed into a chair and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**_

_**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking in to the kitchen for some food. He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died.**_

_**Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead.**_

At that everyone gasped in horror and went pale.

"Avada Kedavra…" said Remus breathlessly as he watched the couples int he room hug each other protectively.

"Harry…he...he has survived that what no one can…" said Sirius.

"That poor boy…" whispered Narcissa as she snuggled closer to Lucius for comfort, her hand in the meantime gripping Severus's arm.

_**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where the green light came from.**_

_**He couldn't remember his parents at all.**_

Lily started to cry softly while James tryed to blink back tears.

_**His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.**_

_**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family.**_

"Where are we…? Why didn't we come…?" asked Sirius bitterly as he was also fighting his tears.

_**Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too.**_

"Wizards." The others nodded.

_**A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking woman dressed in all green has waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple cloak had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day then walked away without another word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**_

_**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**_

"So that is the end of the chapter, who wants to read next?" Remus asked.

"I would like to read the next chapter if it isn't such a big problem." Narcissa said and Remus handed her the book smiling which she returned.

"What is the next chapter title Cissa?" Sirius asked and the blond looked down.

"The title is _**The Letters From No One.**__" _She read looking a bit confused.

"Wounder what this means."

"Let her read and we will know."

_To be continued… _

* * *

A/N: yes I know everyone is OOC in here and the twist is a bit confusing, but everything will be explained.


	4. A strange guest

A/N: so my net is officialy busted till next month and I need to use one of the computers in the university library to get everything updated and this is not easy then today started our exams and this damned heat isn't doing my mood any good…

P.S.: many thanks to everyone who has read the story so far I was really happy about the reviews it really meant a lot to me and as for a little explaining, but not giving away one of the main twists I have made Severus a parseltongue for the fic as I do for my others and now you can guess some things plus I'm a bit curious as to who can find out the names of the ones sending the book and the note. As a little help all the names have already appeared in the books except the two first names of **K. L. S**. The ones who find out at least one of they names can request from me a story with they favorite pairing…

IV. A strange guest and _The Letters from No One_

* * *

Narcissa was about to start with her reading as suddenly something black run past her.

"What was that?" Alice asked confused.

"Uhm…guys who owns from you a black cat?" come Severus's confused voice and everyone turned around to notice a black cat sitting in his lap.

"The cat will be here for the time you are reading the books, she is somewhat of an observer." Said Phineas's portrait calmly and the cat '_meowed'_ in an approving manner as she lay down.

"Well it looks like as if the cats would like you to Severus." Said Sirius grinning at the now blushing boy who glared at him in return.

"Narcissa please start reading." He said hurriedly.

"Uhm…ok."

_**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken his new cine-camera, crashed his remote-control aeroplane and, first time on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches**_**.**

"The poor woman." Said Lilly.

"Such an incredibly great driver the boy." Said both Lucius and Sirius in union which made both boys stare at each other in shock.

"How cute." Said Frank as he ducked two hexes aimed at him by the two blushing boys.

_**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader.**_

"Wow, what a big surprise." Said James annoyed.

_**The rest of them were quite happy to join in Dudley's favourite sport: Harry-hunting.**_

_**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had a place at Uncle Vernon's old school, Smeltings, Piers Polkiss was going there, too. **_

"What a dumb name for a school." Narcissa said while staring at the book.

_**Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local comprehensive. Dudley thought this was **__**very**__**funny**__**. **_

"Hey guys, I just remembered something." Said Alice suddenly and everyone was now staring at her.

"What?" Molly asked her friend.

"Well, isn't Harry about to turn eleven soon." She said.

"Yes and that means…"

"…he will get his letter soon!" exclaimed everyone in union while smiling brightly.

"Hmm…but something is strange thought." Said Remus.

"What do you mean Moony?" Sirius asked his friend confused.

"Do you remember what the chapter title was?"

"_The Letters from No One…" _said Narcissa after re-reading the title.

"Exactly, why would the title speak about the letter in plural if it was only one." Remus said in a thoughtful voice and suddenly everyone gasped.

"DURSLEY I WARN YOU IF MY SON DOESN'T GET HIS LETTER, THEN BE READY THAT I'M COMING TO VISIT LILY RATHER SOON! James yelled at the book furiously.

"Then it is decided, if he dares to take away Harry's letter you all are officially invited to spend the whole winter holydays by us." Lily said in a determined tone at which everyone started grinning evilly so they didn't notice Phineas and the cat exchanging strange looks with each other.

"Lily I promise you that this will be one of your most interesting holydays." James said grinning.

"Oh I'm sure about that then we are going again to our annual sky holyday and Petunia is bringing Vernon along." She said with one evil grin on her lips and everyone was already making a mental list about the things they will need to take with them to the trip.

"Narcissa continue while we are writing to our parents to send us a five things for the trip." Said Frank grinning.

"Ok, and after the end of the chapter I will write mine."

"I will take over for you till you write your letter, considering that I live by the Potters James can include the things I need in his letter." At that everyone stared pale at Sirius. "Erm…did I say something wrong?" he asked confused.

"Quick someone call St. Mungos's Sirius went mental!" yelled James.

"I will get Madam Pomfrey." Said Alice as she jumped up.

"Really funny guys so shall I read?" he asked annoyed.

"Here and thanks." Said the blond as she gave the book to her cousin.

"Lucius would you please also write to your father what I need?"

"Sure." Said the blonde, but both boys suddenly noticed that everyone was staring at them confused, well except Narcissa.

"Erm…why will you write to your father about the things that Severus needs?" asked James the question everyone was thinking.

"Well as Black lives by your family so does Severus live by my family." Lucius said.

"But why?" Sirius asked and Lily suddenly gasped in shock while the cat nuzzled the black haired boy's hand.

"Oh Severus…don't say he got worse…" she said, her voice tembling.

"Yes, unfortunately he did and after my mother died, that was one month after you moved away, was I the one on the receiving end of his tantrums when drunken." He said and suddenly was everyone looking at the boy symphaticaly while Remus glared at both James and Sirius who stared guiltily at the ground.

They really didn't know anything about the boy whose live they made to a greater Hell as it already was.

"You don't need to worry since last year is he living by my family so everything is ok." Lucius said and he received a thankful look from Lily.

"Ok, now we should really start with our letters while Sirius reads." Said Arthur and everyone nodded.

_**"They stuff people's heads down the toilet first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"**_

"Touch him and we will make sure that we shall return from the grave and torment you!" yelled both James and Lily in union.

"I got a book about Necromation from Lucius on last Christmas." Severus chimed in.

"Severus, Lucius I would so snog you both for this." Said Sirius grinning broadly as both teens paled and drew back panicked to the wall, wands drawn.

"Sirius, the blond one is mine." Narcissa hissed protectively and Sirius gulped.

"I DIDN'T MEAN IT THAT WAY! I'M NOT GAY!!" Sirius yelled frustrated while the others didn't look so convinced about that and were now eying Remus suspiciously.

"Would someone be so kind and tell me why you are all looking at me in that way?" he asked and everyone looked away.

"No practicular reason." At that everyone stared at the portrait and both Sirius and Remus started pouting, thought the first one held the book up to continue.

_**"No thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it - it might be sick."**_

_**Then he ran for it before Dudley could work out what he'd said.**_

They all laughed at this statement.

"Don't worry Harry, your cousin will never figure that one out." Said Remus while whipping away a tear.

_**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one her cats and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.**_

"Uhg…" said everyone while making a face.

"Well atleast he had a nice day." Said Alice and everyone nodded sadly, knowing that she was right.

_**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living-room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers and flat straw hats called boaters. **_

"Ugh…I'm starting to really love this uniform even more after reading this." Said James and the others nodded in agrement. They all shudered at the image of them runninmg around in such clothes in school.

_**They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.**_

"Aha…" said everyone.

_**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe her Ickle Dudleykins,**_

"This is priceles…" laughed Sirius while the others were already rolling ont he ground from laughter.

_**he looked so handsome and grown-up.**_

"If you mean horizontal then I would say you are perfectly right." Said Remus, the others started snickering.

_**Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh.**_

"Believe me son, we are knowing how you feel." Said James while still rolling ont he floor.

_**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in grey water**__._

_**"What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.  
"Your new school uniform," she said.**_

"Dare to repeat that Petunia…" Lily said in a soft voice and suddenly everyone backed to the wall with a certain portrait on it which also looked somewhat frightened.

"Erm…Ms. Evans would you please go in that closet in which Mr. Potter went for a five minutes, Lily only gave him a sweet smile as she walked in the closet and shut the door.

"She is scarry…" whimpered Sirius.

"That was only the calm before the storm." Said Severus.

"Luckily was that closet so made that it can hold out any tantrum." Phineas said and everyone looked up to him with confused eyes. "What did you expect both Slytherin and Ravenclaw had a rather sort temper..."

"Aha…", but then everyone flinched and held they ears when Lily's temper broke lose.

"PETUNIA WHEN I GET HOME YOU CAN BET ON THAT FOR THE NEXT TWO MONTHS YOU WILL RUN AROUND WITH RAINBOW COLORED HAIR AND BLUE SKIN WITH ORANGE POINTS!!"

"Prongs…we wish you luck with her." Said Sirius and James shoke in fear.

_**Harry looked in the bowl again.**_

_**"Oh," he said. "I didn't realise it had to be so wet."**_

_**"Don't be stupid," snapped aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things grey for you. It'll look like everyone else's when I've finished."**_

"I doubt it," muttered Sirius while he glared at the book.

"So, I'm finished the letter, can you please give me the book now Sirius?" Narcissa asked.

"Sure, here you go."

_**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High - like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.**_

_**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smeltings stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.**_

_**They heard the click of the letter-box and flop of letters on the doormat.**_

_**"Get the post, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**_

_**"Make Harry get it."**_

_**"Get the post, Harry."**_

_**"Make Dudley get it."**_

_**"Poke him with your Smeltings stick, Dudley."**_

"HEY!" yelled the whole group who were also ready with they letters.

_**Harry dodged the Smeltings stick and went to get the post. three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was holidaying on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill and - a letter for Harry. Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band.**_

_**No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives**_

At that tried everyone to hold back they tears while James wrapped his arms around Lily.

_**- he didn't belong to the library so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet, here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:**_

_**Mr. H. Potter  
the Cupboard under the Stairs  
4 Privet Drive  
Little Whinging  
Surrey**_

_**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp.**_

"Yey, Harry got his letter, but I have only one problem with it."

"And what is that Sirius?" asked Frank curiously.

"WHY IN MERLIN'S NAME ARE THEY USING GREEN INK!!" he yelled, irritated by the Slytherin color.

"Then I think that it was a good idea to not tell you that in the first chap was Professor McGonagall wearing emerald-green robes, oh now I told it though." Severus said grinning as Sirius and James paled while his two fellow Slytherin looked amazed.

"WHY IS OUR HEAD OF HOUSE SUPORTING SLYTHERIN WITH THE COLOR OF HER ROBES!!" both yelled frustrated.

"Well she looks rather great in green." Lily said.

"That is true." Peter agreed while the girls and the two Slytherin boys together with Remus nodded.

_**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter 'H'.**_

"Isn't Ravenclaw's house animal the raven?" Sirius asked confused, but the others ignored him. "HEY, STOP IGNORING THE SEXY GUY!"

_**"Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter-bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.**_

_**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down and slowly began to open the yellow envelope.**_

_**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust and flipped over the postcard.**_

_**"Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk ..."**_

_**"Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!"**_

_**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.**_

"That's it, winter holyday by the Evans here we come!" yelled James while punching his fist in the air, the other doing the same.

"You know dear, I'm already starting to feel sorry for that muggle who gets those twelve as they enemy." Said Phineas while folding his arms in front of his chest, the black cat nodded in agreement.

_**"That's mine!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back.  
"Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it.**_

And everyone was back glaring at the poor defenseless book.

_**His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the greyish white of old porridge.**_

"Wow nice colors, can you also combine them?"

"That was a good one Remy."

_**"P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.  
Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it,**_

"He can read?" asked Remus, shocked. "I thought he had the intelligence of a troll!"

At that everyone was rolling ont he floor laughing.

"Well, he probably can read, but only with mommy's help." Lucius said whith a smirk and everyone started to laugh harder.

_**but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line.**_

_**For a moment it looked as though she might faint.**_

"She is only overreacting." Lily said annoyed.

_**She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.**_

_**" Vernon! Oh my goodness - Vernon!"**_

_**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smeltings stick.**_

_**"I want to read that letter," he said loudly.**_

_**"I want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's mine."**_

_**"Get out both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope.  
Harry didn't move.**_

_**"I WANT MY LETTER!" he **__**shouted**__**.**_

"You heard my son Dursley, give him his letter." James growled.

_**"Let me see it!" demanded Dudley.**_

_**"OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them.**_

_**Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won,**_

"Awww…" Sirius whined.

"Sirius stop acting like a child." Said both Remus and Narcissa in union.

"Ok, this is starting to get frightening." Sirius said.

_**So Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between the door and the floor.**_

_**"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address - how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?"**_

_**"Watching - spying - might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.**_

_**"But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want - "**_

"YOU ARE NOT GOING TO STOP MY SON FROM ATTENDING HOGWARTS!" yelled James and made his way to the closet from which a five seconds later some colorfull curses and explosions could be heard.

_**Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny shoes pacing up and down the kitchen.  
"No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer ... yes, that's best ... we won't do anything ..."**_

_**"But -"**_

_**"I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out all that dangerous nonsense?"**_

_**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard.  
"Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door.**_

"He can fit in the cupboard?" asked Peter, looking amazed.

"Did someone give him a shrinking potion?" Severus asked while raising one eyebrow, the others only frowned.

_**"Who's writing to me?"**_

_**"No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it."**_

_**"It was not a mistake," said Harry angrily. "It had my cupboard on it."**_

_**"SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling. He took a few deep breaths and then forced**__**his face into a smile, which looked quite painful.**_

"_**Er – yes, Harry – about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking...you're really getting a bit big for it … we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom."**_

"THAT OVERGROWN MEAT BALL HAS TWO BEDROOMS!!" yelled everyone.

_**"Why?" said Harry.**_

_**"Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now."**_

_**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into Dudley's first bedroom.**_

_**It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard into his room. He sat down on the bed and stared around him.**_

_**Nearly everything in here was broken. the month-old cine-camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over next door's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favourite programme had been cancelled; there was a large birdcage which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air-rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it.**_

They all chuckled at this.

_**Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as if they hadn't been touched before. **_

"How surprising." Remus said sarcastically.

_**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother: "I don't want him in there ... I need that room ... make him get out ..."**_

_**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it.**_

_**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smeltings stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof and he still didn't have his room back.**_

_**Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall. **_

"That is true." Peter said.

_**Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly.**_

_**When the post arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it.**_

_**They heard him banging things with his Smeltings stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive - "**_

_**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind.**_

_**After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smeltings stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand**__._

_**Go to your cupboard - I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. " Dudley - go - just go."**_

"Git." They said in union.

_**Harry walked round and round his room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan.**_

_**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights.**_

"Good idea Harry." Frank said.

_**He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first.**_

_**His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall towards the front door -  
"AAAAARRRGH!"  
Harry leapt into the air - he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat - something alive!**_

"Ugh…"

_**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realised that the big squashy something had been his uncle's face.**_

"EWWW…." Exclaimed everyone in disgust.

_**Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do.**_

_**He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen, and by the time he got back, the post had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink.**_

_**"I want - " he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes.**_

Everyone glared dangerously at the book while they wand hands were twiching.

_**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the letter-box.**_

"As if that would work."

**See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't deliver, they'll just give up."**

**"I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."**

**"Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruit cake Aunt Petunia had just brought him.**

**On Friday, no fewer than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the letter-box they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs toilet.**

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again.**

**After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed 'Tiptoe through the Tulips' as he worked, and jumped at small noises.**

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living-room window. While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food mixer.**

**"Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement.**

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy.  
"No post on Sunday's," he reminded them happily as he spread marmalade on his newspapers,**

**"no damn letters today -"**

At that everyone started to grin sweetly. "Not in our world." They said in a sing-song voice.

_**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one –**_

"Yes, come on Harry." Said James while the others crossed they fingers.

_**"Out! OUT!" Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall.**_

_**When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.**_

_**"That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his moustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five minutes, ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"**_

_**He looked so dangerous with half his moustache missing that no one dared argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding towards the motorway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, video and computer in his sports bag.**__._

_**They drove. And they drove.**__**Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turning and drive in the opposite direction for a while.**_

_**"Shake 'em off ... shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.**_

"Nice idea, but that won't work."

_**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day.**_

_**By nightfall Dudley was howling.**_

"I take offence to that description!" said Remus, looking indignant.

"We understand that." Severus said as he recieved a stange look from half of the group while the others stared at him in shock and then at Remus who nodded smiling.

_**He'd never had such a bad day in his life.**_

"Welcome to Harry's world nephew!" said James sarcastically.

_**He was hungry, he'd missed five television programmes he'd wanted to see and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.**_

_**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the window-sill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering ...**_

_**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.**_

_**"'Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk."**_

_**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:**_

_**Mr. H. Potter  
Room 17  
Railview Hotel  
Cokeworth**_

_**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared.  
"I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon quickly, standing up quickly and following her from the dining-room.**_

"You know that in the mountains, people can get easily lost and then get only found after days?" Lucius asked grinning evily.

"Oh, how terrible…" said Sirius in a fake shocked tone.

_**"Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car and off they went again.**_

_**The same thing happened in the middle of a ploughed field, halfway across a suspension bridge and at the top of a multi-storey car park.**_

"Uh…someone is starting to lose it…" Arthur said, the others nodded.

_**"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon.**_

"We have already noticed."

_**Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car and disappeared.  
It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley snivelled.**_

_**"It's Monday," he told his mother.**_

"Wow, he knows the days of the week!" said Sirius sarcastically the others grinned.

_**"The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a television."  
Monday.**_

_**This reminded Harry of something. If it was Monday -and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days of the week,**_

"Well this is an improvement." Said Molly.

_**because of television - then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday.**_

_**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun -last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat-hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks.**_

"Lucius, doesn't your family have a weekend home in muggle style where Lily's family is usually going skying?" Severus asked while turning to the blond.

"Yes, my mother let it be made for fun, but why…oh, now I get it." He said as both boys exchanged grins and then turned to the others. "Lily you will spend the weekend with us and your family in the weekend house of my family this year."

"Great idea." She said.

_**Still, you weren't eleven every day.**_

_**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling.**_

"Not good at all." said Sirius.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Said Peter while cowering behind James.

_**He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought.**_

_**"Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"  
It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out to sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain, there was no television in there.**_

_**"Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"**_

_**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowing boat bobbing in the iron-grey water below them.**_

_**"I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!"**_

_**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces.**_

_**After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house**__._

_**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls and the fire-place was damp and empty. There were only two rooms.**_

_**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a packet of crisps each and four bananas. He tried to start a fire but the empty crisp packets just smoked and shrivelled up.**_

_"__**Could do with some of those letters now eh?" he said cheerfully.**_

_**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver post.**_

"You would be surprised what owls can do." Said Arthur.

_**Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all.**_

_**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. pray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows.**_

_**Aunt Petunia found a few mouldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could find and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.**_

"I so can't wayt for the winter holyday." Said Sirius while rubbing his hands together.

_**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger.**_

_**Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight.**_

_**The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time.**_

_**He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all,**_

_**although it might be warmer if it did. Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow.**_

_**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that?**_

_**And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise?**_

_**wondering where the letter-writer was now.**_

_**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside.**_

_**He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in,**_

"I really hope that not." Molly said worriedly.

_**Was the rock crumbling into the sea?**_

_**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds ... twenty seconds ... ten - nine - maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him -**_

_**three - two - one -  
BOOM.**_

_**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**_

"Do you think that someone come from Hogwarts?" James asked.

"Could be."

"Guys, that was the end of the chapter." Narcissa said.

"Then I will take over for now." Said Sirius excited as he grabbed the book.

"I would have never thought that I would live up to the day when Sirius Black is acting so eager to read a book." Severus said while petting the purring cat in his lap.

"I know what you mean." Remus said smiling.

_To be continued..._

* * *

A/N: so this was the next chapter guys...


	5. The Keeper of the Keys

A/N: hey guys here comes the new chapter to the story…and yes I know that some things are confusing, but be patient everything will be revealed…

P.S.: a second clue about the names is the black cat who appeared in the story…

V. _The Keeper of Keys _

* * *

"Well then Paddy, what is the next chapter's title?" James asked.

"Erm…why are you all calling each other such strange names?" Alice asked before Sirius could answer.

"Oh, that are our nicknames you see Sirius is Padfoot, Remus Moony, Peter Wormtail and I'm Prongs." James said.

"_Hmm…I can understand Lupin's…no Remus's nickname, but that of the others? Ah well I will figure it out." _Severus thought.

"Will you allow me to read now?" Sirius asked slightly irritated.

"Ah yes…"

"Great, well then the n ext chapter is _**The Keeper of the Keys…**_"

At that everyone looked at each other in realization. "Hagrid…"

"Yes! Hagrid will save our son." yelled James happily as he jumped up and whirled Lily around.

"Hey you two love birds stop now and let Sirius read." Frank said grinning.

"Sorry." Both said as they sat down.

_**BOOM.**_

"Sirius, there is really no need to shout this." Narcissa complained, but Sirius only grinned.

_**They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.  
"Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.**_

After a quick explaining what a cannon was, was everyone back on the floor rolling with laughter.

_**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands.**_

_**Now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.**_

_**"Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you - I'm armed!"**_

At that the laughter become only more hysterical.

_**There was a pause. Then -**_

_**SMASH!**_

_**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.**_

_**A giant of a man was standing in the doorway.**_

"Finally." Said everyone.

_**His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair. The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.**_

_**"Couldn't make a cup o' tea could yeh? It's not been an easy journey ..."**_

"Typical of Hagrid," muttered Molly under her breath. "It's pouring out, and he asks if he can have a cup of tea!"

_**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.**_

_**"Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.**_

_**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified behind Uncle Vernon.**_

_**"An' here's Harry!" said the giant.**_

_**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.**_

_**"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yeh dad, but yeh've got yer mum's eyes."**_

At that everyone looked sadly at James and Lily who were both trying to hold back they tears.

"I will continue now if you are ready." Sirius said.

"Yes, we are ready." Lily said softly.

_**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.  
"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"**_

_**"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant.**_

At that everyone snickered.

_**He reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.**_

"Yes."

"Hah, tgake that Dursley." James said triumphantly while pointing at the book, the others only shook they heads.

_**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.**_

"Hey, I'm really starting to take offence in these sentences, the poor mousses and rats." Peter said in an irritated tone.

"We fully understand Wormy." James said while petting the other ont he back.

"Thanks James."

"Hmm…I would be interested int hat noise."

"Sirius…" Peter said while glaring at the other who laughed.

"I was only joking."

"That is not funny, but oh well at least I will not be styled as a puddle." Peter said grinning and Sirius nearly dropped the book.

_**"Anyway - Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here - I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."**_

_**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Harry written on it in green icing?**_

"NO GREEN EVERYWHERE!!" Sirius yelled in horror.

"We find it great." Said the three Slytherin happily.

"I'm sure you do…" muttered Sirius under his breath before continuing.

_**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"**_

"Harry James Potter!" yelled Lily. "you could be bit more polite…!"

"Don't worry Lily, I think he is trying to be polite, but he is also confused." Molly said in a soft voice.

_**The giant chuckled.**_

_**"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."  
He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.**_

_**"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."**_

_**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled crisp packets in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warm rush over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath.**_

_**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy packet of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs and a bottle of some amber liquid which he took a swig from before starting to make tea.**_

_**Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage.**_

Sirius suddenly stopped reading and looked up "I'm starting to get hungry."

"Me to…" Peter said while holding his stomach.

"I agree with them." Alice said.

"I have already investigated in this problem, the elves will soon bring the food up. Hmm…it should be ready after the end of this chapter." Phineas said.

"Well then, let's continue."

_**Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little.**_

_**Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."**_

_**The giant chuckled darkly.  
"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' any more, Dursley, don' worry."**_

"Finally someone dares to point that one out." Lucius said while the others grinned.

_**He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant.**_

"It's rude to stare, Harry," commented Lily.

_**Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."  
The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.**_

_**"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts - yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."**_

_**"Er - no," said Harry.**_

_**Hagrid looked shocked.  
"Sorry," Harry said quickly.**_

_**"Sorry?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learnt it all?"**_

_**"All what?" asked Harry.**_

_**"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"**_

_**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.**_

_**"Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy - this boy - knows nothin' abou' - about ANYTHING?"**_

"Yep." said everyone while nodding.

_**Harry thought this was going a bit far.**_

_**He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad.  
"I know some things," he said. "I can, you know, do maths and stuff.**_

_**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world."**_

_**"What world?"**_

_**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.**_

_**"DURSLEY!" he boomed.  
Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like 'Mimblewimble'.**_

"Is that even a word?" asked Sirius.

"In his vocabulary probably yes." Remus said.

_**Hagrid stared wildly at Harry.  
"But yeh must know about yer mum and dad," he said. "I mean, they're famous. You're famous."**_

_**"What? My - my mum and dad weren't famous, were they?"**_

_"__**Yeh don' know ... yeh don' know ..." Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.  
"Yeh don' know what yeh are?" he said finally.**_

_**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.**_

_**"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"**_

_**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.**_

_**"You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"**_

_**"Kept what from me?" said Harry eagerly.**_

_**"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.  
Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.**_

"Ugh…why did my cousin need to get the chapter with the most shouting in it?" Narcissa groaned.

_**"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid.**_

"You tell them Hagrid!" yelled everyone.

_**"Harry - yer a wizard."**_

_**There was a silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.  
"I'm a what?"**_

_**"A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good'un I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."**_

"About time!" exclaimed Lily and James together while the others looked smiling at them.

_**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green **_

At that Sirius groaned while the others sent him death glares.

_**to Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. He pulled out the letter and read:**_

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY**_

_**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**_

_**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chr. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**_

_**Dear Mr. Potter,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.**_

_**Yours sincerely,**_

_**Minerva McGonagall  
Deputy Headmistress**_

_**a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl - a long quill and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note which Harry could read upside down:**_

_**Dear Mr. Dumbledore,  
Given Harry his letter. Taking him to buy his things tomorrow. Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.  
Hagrid.**_

_**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was normal as talking on the telephone.**_

_**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly.**_

_**"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.**_

_**"He's not going," he said.**_

_**Hagrid grunted.  
"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said.**_

"We would also like to see that." exclaimed everyone in union.

_**"A what?" said Harry, interested.**_

_**"A Muggle," said Hagrid. "It's what we call non-magic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."**_

_**"We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard, indeed!"**_

_**"You knew?" said Harry. "You knew I'm a - a wizard?"**_

_**"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was?**_

"Hey! I'm not dratted." Lily growled while the others glared at the book.

_**Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that - that school - and came home every holiday with her pockets full of frog-spawn, turning teacups into rats.**_

_**I was the only one who saw her for what she was - a freak!**_

"WE ARE NOT FREAKS!!" the whole group roared in anger at the insult.

_**But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"**_

_**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed like she had been wanting to say all this for years.**_

"How great, my own sister hates me…"

_**"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be the same, just as strange, just as - as - abnormal - and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"**_

_**Harry had gone very white.**_

_**As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!"**_

"And here we go again." Severus said as he cowered his ears, the others mimicking his action.

_**"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!"**_

_**"But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.**_

_**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.  
"I never expected this," he said in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh - but someone's gotta - yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'"**_

_**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.**_

_"__**Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh - mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it ..."**_

_**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with - with a person called - but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows -"**_

_**"Who?"**_

_**"Well - I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."**_

_**"Why not?"**_

_**"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went ... bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was ..."**_

_**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.**_

_**"Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.**_

_**"Nah - can't spell it. All right - Voldemort."**_

"About time you finally say his name Hagrid." James said smiling.

_**Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this - this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too - some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches ... Terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him - an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.**_

_**"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew.**_

"How nice of him." Lily said smiling.

_**Head Boy an' Girl at Hogwarts in their day!**_

At that Sirius really dropped the book and was now staring open mouthed at his best friend, the others only stared wide eyed at James while Lily beamed from happiness.

"He…he…Head Boy…I'm doomed…" Severus whined.

"Well it will probably not be so bad…" Remus said.

"Thanks Remus, at least one of you trusts me."

"…of course, why shouldn't I? The castle is still standing so it will be ok." Remus finished and James started glaring at him.

"Gezz…why thank you Moony…" he said.

_**Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before ... probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side. Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em ... maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' - an' -"**_

_**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with the sound of a foghorn.  
"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad - knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find - anyway - You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then - an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing - he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then.**_

"Git…"

_**But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh -took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even - but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry.**_

Both Lily and James were now looking proudly at the book.

_**No one ever lived after he decided to kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age - the McKinnons,**_

"Oh no…Marcus and Katrine…" Alice gasped.

_**the Bones, **_

"Bobby…"

_**the Prewetts**_

At that stared everyone with horror filled eyes at Molly who was shaking in Arthur's arms.

"Ssss…I will not allow him to hurt you." He whispered to her.

"Bu…but what about my brothers Gideon and Fabian ….?" She asked in a frightened tone.

_**- an' you was only a baby an' you lived."**_

_**Something very painful was going on inside Harry's mind.**_

_**As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before - and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life - a high, cold, cruel, laugh.**_

Everyone gasped in horror.

"Voldemort…" Lily whispered.

_**Hagrid was watching him sadly.**_

_**"Took yer from the ruined House myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot ..."**_

_**"Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon.**_

"He is still there?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow.

_**Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there.**_

"Believe me Harry, you were not the only one." James said.

_**Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.**_

_**"Now you listen here, boy," he snarled. "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured -**_

And as on cue was everyone back working on they lists.

_**and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdoes, no denying it,**_

_**and the world's better off without them in my opinion - asked for all they got, getting mixed up with all these wizarding types - just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end - "**_

_**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt up from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat.**_

_**Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley - I'm warning you - one more word ..."**_

_**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.**_

_**"That's better," said Hagrid breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.**_

_**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.**_

_**"But what happened to Vol- sorry - I mean, You-Know-Who?"**_

_**"Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see ... he was gettin' more an' more powerful - why'd he go? Some say he died.**_

_**Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who were on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back. Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on - I dunno what it was, no one does - but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**_

_**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake.**_

_**A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard?**_

_James and Lily glared at the book again and Sirius growled._

_**If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?**_

_**"Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."**_

_**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled. "Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you were scared or angry?"**_

_**Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it ... every odd thing that had ever happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry ... chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach ...**_

_**dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back ...**_

_**And the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?**_

"Yes son, remind your poor father about the fact that you can talk with snakes." James whined and Severus could have sworn that he heard the cat in his lap giggle, but that was impossible…or wasn't it?

_**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.  
"See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard - you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."**_

_**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight. "Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish - spell books and wands and - "**_

_**"If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest Headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbled - "**_

_**"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.**_

"Uh oh," Peter said, while exchanging nervous looks with the others who were already cowering they ears.

_**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled over his head. "NEVER -" he thundered, "- INSULT - ALBUS - DUMBLEDORE - IN - FRONT - OF - ME!"**_

_**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley –**_

Suddenly was everyone staring excited at the book.

_**There was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal and next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain.**_

_**When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**_

Everyone was rolling on the ground laughing at the mental image.

_**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.**_

_**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.**_

_**"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."**_

At that they laughed even harder.

_**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows.**_

_"__**Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm - er - not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff - one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job -"**_

_**"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.**_

"Because he was expelled, but it would be interesting to know why." Sirius said.

"I think your wish might be granted in the next book." Phineas muttered under his breath.

_**"Oh, well - I was at Hogwarts meself but I - er - got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."**_

_**"Why were you expelled?"**_

_**"Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."**_

"He always changes the topic."

_**"It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly.**_

_**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.  
"You can kip under that, he said. "Don't' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."**_

"Well this is the end of the chapter." Sirius said and just in that moment a secret door opened and the house-elves entered with many plates of food.

"We should eat first and then decide who is reading next." Suggested Lily and the others nodded.

_To be continued…_

* * *

A/N: so this chapter is also ready…


	6. Sons meting

A/N: so I'm back with a new chapter…

VI. Sons meting and _Diagon Alley _

* * *

After everyone was full the group sat back down.

"So, who wants to read next?" Lily asked.

"Me." Lucius said and Lily gave him the book. "So the next chapter is, oh how nice _**Diagon Alley**_"

"Great our son will see Diagon Alley for the first time in his live." James said smiling, but on the inside it hurt him that he and Lily weren't there to go with him.

_**Harry **__**woke**__**early**__**the**__**next**__**morning**__**. **__**Although**__** he **__**could**__**tell**__** it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight.  
"It was a dream," he told himself firmly. "I dreamt a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard."**_

"No Harry that will never happen again."

_**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.  
"And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door," Harry thought, his heart sinking. But he still hadn't opened his eyes. It had been such a good dream.**_

_**Tap. Tap. Tap.**_

_**"All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up."**_

_**He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him.**_

_**The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.  
Harry scrambled to his feet, so**__**happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him.**_

_**He went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered to the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.**_

_**"Don't do that."**_

_**Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat.**_

_**"Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl -"**_

_**"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.**_

_**"**__**What**__**?"**_

_**"He **__**wants**__** payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets."**_

"And in which one exactly from the probably thousand?" Sirius asked.

_**Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets - bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, mint humbugs, teabags ... finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.**_

_**"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily.**_

_**"Knuts?"**_

_**"The little bronze ones."**_

_**Harry counted five little bronze coins and the owl held out its leg so he could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then it flew out through the open window.**_

_**Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up and stretched.  
"Best be off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."**_

_**Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something which made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture.**_

_**"Um - Hagrid?"**_

_**"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.**_

_**"I haven't got any money - and you heard Uncle Vernon last night - he won't pay for me to go to learn magic."**_

"There is no need to worry Harry, your father's family is the second richest family in our world in the same row as the Blacks." Lucius said.

_**"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'ye think year parents didn't leave yeh anything?"**_

_**"But if their house was destroyed -"**_

_**"They didn't keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank Have a sausage, they're not bad cold - an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither.**_

_**"Wizards have banks?"**_

_**"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."**_

_**Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding.**_

_**"Goblins?"**_

_**"Yeah - so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe - 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you - gettin' things from Gringotts - knows he can trust me, see."**_

_**"Got everythin'? Come on, then."**_

_**Harry followed Hagrid out on to the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.**_

_**"How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat.**_

_**"Flew," said Hagrid.**_

"I really don't want to sound offensive, but is there even a broom which would manage to carry Hagrid?" Sirius asked and the others only shrugged.

_**"Flew?"**_

_**"Yeah - but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."  
They settled down in the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.**_

_**"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter - er - speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"**_

_**"Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat and they sped off towards land.**_

_**"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked.**_

_**"Spells - enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there are dragons guardin' the high security vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way - Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."**_

_**Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. Harry had learnt from Uncle Vernon that people like to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life**_

_**"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.**_

_**"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself.**_

_**"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."**_

"Fudge? That Hufflepuff idiot who graduated three years ago and managed to always forget the password to they common room?" Lucius asked shocked.

"Wow, the Ministry will get worse then it already is…" Remus said.

"Looks like it…"

_**"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?"  
"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."  
"Why?"  
"Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."**_

_**At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper and they clambered up the stone steps on to the street.**_

_**Passers-by stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Harry couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"**_

_**"Hagrid," said Harry panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?"**_

_**"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."**_

_**"You'd like one?"**_

_**"Wanted one ever since I was a kid - here we go."**_

"Dragons are great." Sirius said in a dreamy voice.

"What is with him…?"Frank asked while leaning to the others.

"Sirius always wanted a dragon." Narcissa whispered and the others nodded while backing away from a drooling Sirius.

_**They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand 'Muggle money', as he called it, gave the notes to Harry so he could buy their tickets.**_

_**People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.**_

_**"Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches.  
Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket.**_

_**"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list of everything yeh need."  
Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before and read:**_

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY**_

_**Uniform  
First-year students will require:  
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)  
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear  
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)  
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags**_

"Well, that is the same."

_**Set Books  
All students should have a copy of each of the following:  
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk  
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot  
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling  
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch  
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore  
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger  
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander  
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble**_

"And same goes for the book list."

_**Other Equipment  
1 wand  
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)  
1 set glass or crystal phials  
1 telescope  
1 set brass scales**_

_**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad**_

_**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS**_

"Darn…" James growled.

_**"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud.**_

_**"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.**_

_**Harry had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not too used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.**_

Everyone burst out laughing.

_**"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said, as they climbed a broken-down escalator which led up to a bustling road lined with shops.**_

_**Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him.**_

_**They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger bars and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand.**_

_**This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks?**_

"Of course dear." Molly said.

_**Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?**_

_**If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him.**_

_**"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."**_

_**It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it.**_

_**Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside.**_

_**For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old barman, who was quite bald and looked like a gummy walnut.**_

"Looks like Tom's still barman, then!" said James.

_**The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the barman reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"**_

_**"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle.**_

_**"Good Lord," said the barman, peering at Harry, "is this - can this be -?"**_

_**The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.  
"Bless my soul," whispered the old barman. "Harry Potter ... what an honor."**_

_**He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed towards Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes.  
"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."**_

_**Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming.**_

_**Then there was a great scraping of chairs and, next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.**_

_**"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."**_

_**"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."**_

_**"Always wanted to shake your hand - I'm all of a flutter."**_

_**"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you. Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."**_

"Diggle…" Lucius hissed in pure anger as he glared at the book.

"What is with him?" James ashed confused.

"Still not over that pink hair accident?" Narcissa asked.

"You have guessed right." Severus said sighing while everyone watched a still growluing Lucius.

"Shouldn't we take the book away from him before he burns it with his glare?" Peter asked as he was suddenly pushed forth by the others.

"We wish you luck." James said grinning.

"What!" Peter said panicked as he glanced over nervously to Lucius who was now grinning like a maniac.

"Erm…Mr. Malfoy, please continue." Phineas said carefully and the blond nodded, much to everyones relief.

_**"I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."**_

_**"He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? He remembers me!"  
Harry shook hands again and again - Doris Crockford kept coming back for more."**_

_**A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.  
"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."**_

"Quirrell…? Isn't he that first year in our House?" Narcissa asked.

"Yes and we still try to figure out how he managed to get in." Lucius said as he looked at Severus who nodded.

_**"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you."**_

_**"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"**_

_**"D-Defence Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" he laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.**_

"Great now he also stutters…" Lucius groaned in annoyance.

"What a great thing that old Vildy-moldy is gone" Sirius said sarcastically.

_**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble. "Must get on - lots ter buy. Come on, Harry."**_

_**Doris Crockford shook his hand one last time and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a dustbin and a few weeds.**_

_**Hagrid grinned at Harry.  
"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh - mind you, he's usually tremblin'."**_

_**"Is he always that nervous?"**_

_**"Oh, yeah, poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some first-hand experience... They say he met vampires in the Black Forest and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag - never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject - now, where's me umbrella?"**_

_**Vampires? Hags? Harry's head was swimming.**_

_**Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the dustbin.  
"Three up... two across..." he muttered. "Right, stand back, Harry."**_

_**He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.**_

_**The brick he had touched quivered - it wriggled - in the middle, a small hole appeared - it grew wider and wider - a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway on to a cobbled street which twisted and turned out of sight.**_

_**"**__**Welcome**__**," said Hagrid, "to Diagon **__**Alley**__**."**_

At that everyone started cheering.

_**He grinned at Harry's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.**_

_**The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons - All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver - Self-Stirring - Collapsible said a sign hanging over them.**_

_**"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."**_

_**Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an apothecary's was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen sickles an ounce, they're mad..."**_

_**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium - Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown and Snowy.**_

"I love Snowy owls." The girls said in union.

_**Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand - fastest ever -"**_

Suddenly James perked and nearly jumped on Lucius.

"Potter I warn you, if you dare to drool on me I will hex you in to the next week." Lucius threatened while desperately trying to get a distance between himself and James.

_**There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon ...**_

_**"Gringotts," said Hagrid.  
They had reached a snowy-white building which towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was -  
"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps towards him.**_

_**The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:**_

"Could we please skip the poem?" Lucius asked hopefuly and the others nodded.

_**"Like I said, yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.**_

_**A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins on brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter.**_

_**"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe."**_

_**"You have his key, sir?"**_

_**"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog-biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.**_

_**"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a golden key.**_

_**The goblin looked at it closely.  
"That seems to be in order."**_

_**"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."**_

"This sounds interesting," said James.

_**The**__**goblin read the letter carefully.  
"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"**_

_**Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog-biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook towards one of the doors leading off the hall.**_

_**"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.**_

_**"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously.**_

"Awwww," whined Sirius and James together.

"You sound childish," said Remus, disgusted.

"Guys start to act finaly up to your ages." Lily said.

"But we like being childish." At that everyone groaned.

_**"Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."**_

_**Griphook held open the door for them. Harry, who had expected to see more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downwards and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks towards them. They climbed in - Hagrid with some difficulty - and were off.**_

_**At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.**_

_**Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but was too late. They plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.**_

_**"I never know," Harry called to hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"**_

"Stalagmites are found on the ground and stalactites on the ceiling," said Remus. "'G' for 'ground' and 'c' for 'ceiling'."

The others blinked at him.

"Okkeyy…Lucius please continue quick before he does…" James said panicked and Rermus started poutting.

_**"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."  
He did look very green and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees trembling.**_

"Those are fun." Sirius said.

"Their like the Muggle roller coasters." Lily and Severus said smiling while the others looked at them confused.

"We will show you someday." Lily said.

_**Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped.**_

"GAH!!" Sirius screamed.

"Well, I like green." James said.

"Only if that greens are Lily's eyes." Remus said grinn ing as his two friends started blushing.

_**Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.  
"All yours," smiled Hagrid.**_

_**All Harry's - it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep?**_

James and Lily began glaring at the book again while the others started scribling on they lists.

_**And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London.**_

_**Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag.**_

_**"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe fer yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen, now, please, and can we go more slowly?"**_

_**"One speed only," said Griphook.**_

_**They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine and Harry leant over the side to try and see what was down at the dark bottom but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.**_

_**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.**_

_**"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.**_

"Cool." Come it from all the boys while the girls only rolled they eyes.

_**"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.**_

_**"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.**_

_**"About once every ten years," said Griphook, with a rather nasty grin.**_

_**Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top-security vault, Harry was sure, and he leant forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least - but at first he thought it was empty.**_

_**Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but he knew better than to ask.  
"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.**_

"Could the Philosopher's Stone be in there?" Alice asked.

"Could be."

_**One wild cart-ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money.**_

_**He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life - more money than even Dudley had ever had.**_

James and Sirius had satisfied smiles on their faces.

_**"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding towards Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? Hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.**_

_**Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.**_

_**"Hogwarts dear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here - another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."**_

Lucius who had read a bit forth stopped suddenly.

"Erm Lucius, is everything ok?" Narcissa asked cofused as the other started grinn ing broadly.

"Everything is perfect." He said while the others stared confused at him.

_**In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. **_

At that everyone gasped and Lucius punched the air grinning.

"Yes, I have a son !" he said excited and Narcissa started blushing.

_**Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him, slipped a long robe over his head and began to pin it to the right length.**_

_**"Hullo," said the boy, "Hogwarts too?"**_

_**"Yes," said Harry.**_

_**"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice.**_

"Definitely sounds like you Malfoy," said Sirius.

_**"Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first-years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."**_

_**Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley.**_

"HEY!" said both Lucius and Narcissa sounding offended.

As Lucius read further he paled a bit.

"How great…"

"Hmm…what is wrong?" Severus asked.

"I fear my father's and grandfathetr's preaching got through to me and to my son to…" he said sighing while most of the others stared confused at him.

"With that he wants to say that he is apologaizing for everything his son will say in the book." Severus said.

_**"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.  
"No," said Harry.  
"Play Quidditch at all?"  
"No," said Harry again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.**_

"WHAT!" shouted James in horror while the others sighed.

_**"I do - Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?" **_

"That was my grandfather speaking…" Lucius groaned.

Severus could only look sympathically at his friend, he knew that Lucius couldn 't stand his grandfather and all that blood line preaching he got, buti t seemes as if saddly the blond broke after leaving Hogwarts.

_**"No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.**_

"Bet he'll be in Slytherin," said James, but then he suddenly turned to his side. "Erm sorry Narcissa, Lucius, Severus."

"No offense taken." Said the trio.

_**"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been - imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"**_

"Yep, my grandfather…"

"Wow, and I thought I was the on ly one having such family problems…" Sirius said stunned.

_**"Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.  
"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding towards the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice-creams to show he couldn't come in.**_

_**"That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."**_

_**"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"**_

At that most of the others started glarring.

"Stop that, we were told to only judge when we have read al seven books." Molly said in a starn voice which didn't leav any room for an argument, the others nodded grimly.

_**"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second.**_

_**"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage -**_

_**lives in a hut in the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic and ends up setting fire to his bed."**_

_**"I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly.**_

_**"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer.**_

_**"Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"  
"They're dead," said Harry shortly.**_

_**He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.**_

_**"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"**_

_**"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."**_

_**"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"**_

"That's it when I get home the next time I will tell my grandfather that he shall keep his hands AWAY from MY SON!" Lucius roared while Sirius turned to Narcissa.

"Hope he manages to stay like this, I'm startin g to like your boyfriend." He whispered to his cousin.

_**Before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.**_

_**"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.**_

_**"What's up?" said Hagrid.**_

_**"Nothing," Harry lied. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote.**_

_**When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"**_

_**"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know - not knowin' about Quidditch!"**_

_**"Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.  
"-and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in -"**_

_**"Yer not from a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh were - he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents were wizardin' folk - you saw 'em in the Leaky Cauldron. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles - look at yer mum!**_

Lily looked proud. "He thinks I'm one of the best! How nice of him."

_**Look at what she had fer a sister!"**_

_**"So what is Quidditch?"**_

"Hurry up and tell him!" exclaimed James.

"James calm down."

_**It's our sport, wizard sport. It's like - like football in the Muggle world - everyone follows Quidditch - played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls - sorta hard ter explain the rules."**_

_**"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"**_

_**"School houses. There are four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but -"**_

_**"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harry gloomily.**_

"No, Harry, you'll be in Gryffindor, like your parents and the rest of the Marauders." said James.

_**"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."**_

_**"Vol - sorry - You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"  
"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.**_

"Wow, I never knew that…" Lucius said stunned.

"That is frightening…" Peter said.

_**They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these.**_

_**Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from Curses and Counter-Curses (Bewitch your Friends and Befuddle your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and much, much more) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.**_

"Wow," said Sirius, impressed, "Harry has good taste!"

_**"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."**_

_**"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."**_

_**Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"),**_

"Just like his father!" said Lily. "A total show off!" James smiled while the other only grinned.

_**but they got a nice set of brass scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the apothecary's, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages.**_

_**Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor, jars of herbs, dried roots and bright powders lined the walls, bundles of feathers, strings of fangs and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery black beetle eyes (five knuts a scoop).**_

_**Outside the apothecary's, Hagrid checked Harry's list again.  
"Just yer wand left - oh yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."**_

"Awww, isn't that sweet of Hagrid?" asked Lily and the others nodded.

**Harry felt himself go red.  
"You don't have to -"  
"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer an animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at -an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer post an' everythin'."**

**Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage which held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.**

"Aww…" the girls coed while the boys looked disgusted.

_**"Don' mention it, said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys.**_

_**Just Ollivanders left now - only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."**_

_**A magic wand... this was what Harry had been really looking forward to.**_

_**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.**_

"Has that wand ever moved?" asked Sirius. The others shrugged.

_**A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty for a single spindly chair which Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he'd entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions which had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.**_

"The room hasn't changed much, either," commented James.

_**"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.**_

_**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.**_

_**"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.**_

_**"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question.**_

_**"You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow.**_

"I can't believe he still remembers that!" exclaimed Lily.

_**Nice wand for charm work."**_

"Well, Charms is my best subject," said Lily.

"Beside, Potions and Ancient Runes." Severus pointed out.

_**Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.**_

_**"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration.**_

James pulled out his wand. "He got my right."

_**Well, I say your father favored it- it's really the wand that chooses the wizard , of course."  
My Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.**_

_**"And that's where..."  
Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger.  
"I'm sorry to say that I sold the wand that did it," he said softly.**_

_**"Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... Well, if I'd known what that wand was going out in the world to do..."**_

_**He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid.**_

_**"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"**_

"What was the core, does anyone know?" Sirius asked.

"I have asked him once in second year, dragon heartstring." Lily answered.

_**"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.**_

_**"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.**_

_**"Er - yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.**_

_**"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.**_

_**"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.**_

"Yeah right," muttered James sarcastically.

_**"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now - Mr. Potter. Let me see."**_

_**He pulled a long tape measure with silver marking out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"  
"Er - well, I'm right-handed," said Harry.**_

_**"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head.**_

_**As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns or dragons or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."**_

"Never knew that," said Sirius.

The others choose not to say anything about this comment.

_**Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.**_

_**"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave."**_

_**Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander took it out of his hand almost at once.**_

_**"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try -"**_

_**Harry tried - but he had hardly raised it when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.**_

_**"No, no - here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."**_

_**Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.**_

"It took me forever to find my wand, too," said Sirius, remembering.

"Yes ans aunt Walburge told me that you managed to destroy nearly half of the shop." Narcissa said while the others started laughing at this, Sirius only blushed in embrassement.

_**"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere - I wonder, now - yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."**_

_**Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers.**_

_**He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on the walls.**_

"YES, DEFENIATELY A GRIFFINDOR!!"yelled James, Sirius, Frank and Arthur in union.

_**Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious..."**_

_**He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious... curious..."  
"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?"**_

"We would also like to know."

_**Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.  
"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter.**_

"You don't say," said Sirius sarcastically.

"Sirius, let Lucius read." Remus said to his friend who started pouting.

_**Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother - why, its brother gave you that scar."**_

The others looked shocked and Lucius nearly dropped the book.

"Ookkeyy…this is frightening…" said Sirius and the others nodded.

_**Harry swallowed.  
"Yes, thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. potter... After all, He Who Must Not Be Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great."**_

_**Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop**__._

_**The late-afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawping at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the sleeping snowy owl on Harry's lap.**_

_**Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder.  
"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said.**_

_**He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them.**_

_**Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.**_

"We know how you feel." Lily and Severus said in union.

_**"You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.**_

_**Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life - and yet - he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.**_

_**"Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander ... but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things?**_

"Well, you survived the Killing Curse!" exclaimed James. "Plus I'm your father, you are destinaited to do great things." At that everyone groaned.

"He is more likely destinatexd to have truble running after him every minute." Lily said sounding annoyed.

_**I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol- sorry - I mean, the night my parents died."**_

The others were silent.

_**Hagrid leant across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.**_

_**"Don' you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts - I did - still do, 'smatter of fact."**_

_**Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope.**_

_**"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts," he said. "First o' September - King's Cross - it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me... See yer soon, Harry."**_

_**The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.**_

"That's the end of the chapter," said Lucius as he looked at the others. "Who goes next?"

"I will." Arthur said smiling while holding one hand int he air.

"Ok."

_To be continued… _

* * *

A/N: so I'm trying to type down the next chapter, but I will go at four to a cake-party by a friend we try to make our own cakes…


	7. How many kids?

A/N: and here is the new chapter

VII. How many kids…and _THE JOURNEY FROM PLATFORM NINE AND THREE-QUARTERS_

* * *

"Well then I would say I start with reading." Arthur said. "_**THE JOURNEY FROM PLATFORM NINE AND THREE-QUARTERS.**_"

"Great, Harry will love the Hogwarts Express." Lily said smiling.

_**Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun.**_

"Is it ever fun?" asked Sirius, looking annoyed.

_**True, Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn't stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut Harry in his cupboard, force him to do anything or shout at him - in fact, they didn't speak to him at all.**_

"A bit of an improvement," said James, glaring at the book, the others nodded.

_**Half-terrified, half-furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it was empty. Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while.**_

_**Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company. He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he found in A History of Magic.**_

"That is a great name." Alice commented.

_**His school books were very interesting.**_

"I guess Harry takes after Lily in this matter," said Remus while looking relieved, James only glared at him.

_**He lay on his bed reading late into the night. Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to hoover any more, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice.**_

Peter shuddered and looked on the verge of fainting.

"What is wrong with him?" Severus asked curiously while petting the black cat.

"Erm…nothing." James said quickly.

_**Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off another day on the piece of paper he had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first.**_

_**On the last day of August he thought he'd better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station next day, so he went down to the living-room, where they were watching a quiz show on television. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room.**_

"Wimp," they all muttered.

_**"Er - Uncle Vernon?"**_

_**Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening.**_

_**"Er - I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to - to go to Hogwarts."**_

_**Uncle Vernon grunted again.**_

_**"Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?"**_

_**Grunt.**_

_**Harry supposed that meant yes.**_

_**"Thank you."**_

"Wow, they both can speake troll." Sirius commented and everyone bust out laughing at the image of Vernon Dursley having a conversation with a troll about his beloved drills.

_**He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke.  
"Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"**_

"Actually, they're illegal in Britain, they are only allowed int he Middle East" Remus said.

_**Harry didn't say anything.**_

_**"Where is this school, anyway?"**_

_**"I don't know," said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He pulled out the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket.**_

_**"I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o' clock," he read.**_

_**His aunt and uncle stared. "Platform what?"**_

_**"Nine and three-quarters."  
"Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "there's no platform nine and three-quarters."**_

_**"It's on my ticket."  
"Barking," said Uncle Vernon,**_

"I take offense to the word he just used," said Sirius, annoyed.

_**"Howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see.**_

_**You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother."**_

_**"Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly.**_

_**"Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."**_

They all laughed at this.

"Why, it would look great." Sirius managed to get out before he and the others broke out in a more hysterical laughter.

_**Harry woke at five o' clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep. He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes - he'd change on the train.**_

"Good plan," said Lily.

_**He checked the Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up. Two hours later, Harry's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to Harry and they had set off.**_

_**They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk on to a trolley and wheeled it into the station for him.**_

James frowned and said," Strange. That's unusually kind of him."

_**Harry thought this was strangely kind until he stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face.**_

_**"Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine - platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?"**_

"Muggles can't see it only if someone magical shows them."

**He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.**

"OH!" shouted Lily. "I AM GOING TO KILL PETUNIA!"

_**"Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile.**_

_**He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away.**_

_**All three of them were laughing. Harry's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He'd have to ask someone.**_

_**He stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters. The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose. Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o' clock, but the guard said there wasn't one. In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time-wasters.**_

_**Harry was now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, he had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and he had no idea how to do it; he was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk he could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money and a large owl.**_

_**Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. He wondered if he should get his wand and start tapping the ticket box between platforms nine and ten.**_

_**At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying.  
" -packed with Muggles, of course -"**_

"Wizards." They said smiling.

_**Harry swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him - and they had an owl.**_

At that every gaze turned to a blushing Molly and Arthur.

"Arthur, did you just read _four boys?_" James asked and Arthur re-read the perse before nodding.

"Aha…" come it from everyone who were still giving the twoo strange looks.

_**Heart hammering, Harry pushed his trolley after them. They stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying.**_

_**"Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother.**_

_**"Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand. "Mum, can't I go ..."**_

"…and a girl." James corected himself.

"Aww Molly she is so cute." Lily said and Molly blushed even more.

_**"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first."**_

_**What looked like the oldest boy marched towards the platforms nine and ten. Harry watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it - but just as the boy reached the divide between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him, and by the time the last rucksack had cleared away, the boy had vanished.**_

_**"Fred, you next," the plump woman said.**_

_**"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"**_

James and Sirius grinned.

_**"Sorry, George, dear."**_

_**"Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy, and off he went.**_

James and Sirius were chuckling at this.

"Oh great!" groaned Remus. "All we need is another generation of you two!"

"Oh no…I will have twin pranksters…" Molly sighed as she glared at an awkwardly grinning Arthur.

_**His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done, because a second later, he had gone - but how had he done it?**_

_**Now the third brother was walking briskly towards the ticket barrier - he was almost there - and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere.**_

_**There was nothing else for it.**_

_**"Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman.**_

_**"Hullo, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too."**_

_**She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet and a long nose.**_

"Not the most flattering description," said Lily. The others nodded in agreement.

"You tell me, that is my son." Arthur said.

"Yes, one of four." Lucius commented.

_**"Yes," said Harry. "The thing is - the thing is, I don't know how to -"**_

_**"How to get on to the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded.**_

_**"Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."**_

_**"Er - OK," said Harry.  
He pushed his trolley round and stared at the barrier.**_

_**It looked very solid.**_

_**He started to walk towards it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that ticket box and then he'd be in trouble - leaning forward on his trolley he broke into a heavy run - the barrier was coming nearer and nearer - he wouldn't be able to stop - the trolley was out of control - he was a foot away - he closed his eyes ready for the crash -**__**It didn't come ... he kept on running ... he opened his eyes.  
A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people.**_

"He did it!" cheered Lily and James.

_**A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the ticket box had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it. He had done it.**_

_**Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to each other in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.**__**The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushed his trolley off down the platform in search of an empty seat. He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."**_

_**"Oh, Neville," he heard the old woman sigh.**_

_**A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.**_

_**"Give us a look, Lee, go on."**_

_**The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.**_

"Cool." At that Sirius recieved a glare from every female in the room.

_**Harry pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk towards the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot.**_

_**"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the ticket box.**_

_**"Yes, please," Harry panted.**_

_**"Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!"**_

"Awww, that's nice of those twins!" said Lily and Molly smiled.

**With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment.**

**"Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.**

**"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar.**

**"Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you-?"**

**"He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry.**

**"What?" said Harry.**

**"Harry Potter," chorused the twins.**

**"Oh, him," said Harry. "I mean, yes, I am."**

"George and Frederik Weasley this was not polite of you two." Molly said in a scolding tone.

"She is already getting in to the mother role." Frank whispered to the others.

_**The two boys gawped at him and Harry felt himself going red. Then, to his relief, a voice came floating through the train's open door.**_

_**"Fred? George? Are you there?"**_

_**"Coming, Mum."**_

_**With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train.**_

_**Harry sat down next to the window where, half-hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying.**_

_**Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief.**_

_**"Ron, you've got something on your nose."**_

_**"Mum - geroff." He wriggled free.**_

_**"Aaah, has ickle Ronniekins got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins.**_

Sirius and James grinned. "I've spoken like that to Regulus before, loved his reaction" commented Sirius grinning.

_**"Shut up," said Ron.**_

_**"Where's Percy?" said their mother.**_

_**"He's coming now."**_

_**The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes and Harry noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it.**_

"Argh! Prefect!" exclaimed Sirius, Molly only beamed proudly.

_**"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the Prefects have got two compartments to themselves -"**_

_**"Oh, are you a Prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."**_

_**"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once-"**_

_**"Or twice-"**_

_**"A minute-"**_

_**"All summer-"**_

_**"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect.**_

Everyone was laughing. "These guys are so cool!" exclaimed Sirius

_**"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.**_

_**"Because he's a Prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term - send me an owl when you get there."**_

"Your family has still that financial fiasco?" Lucius asked while looking at Arthur.

"Looks like it…"

_**She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.**_

"This looks familiar, Padfoot," commented James, grinning.  
"Yeah, Prongs!" he replied.  
"The warning," they said together.

"And of course you never listen." Remus pointed out to the grinni9ng dou.

_**"Now you two - this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've - you've blown up a toilet or -"**_

"We have never done this, but…we are only third years." Sirius said grinning, but then turned to his side at the clearing of a throath and imediately paled as he saw Lucios grinning while winkin g at him. "Darn…forgott hat he was a Perfect…" he growled.

_**"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."**_

_**"Great idea though, thanks, Mum."**_

_**"It's not funny. And look after Ron."**_

_**"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."**_

_**"Shut up," said Ron again.**_

_**He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it.**_

_**"Hey, Mum, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"**_

_**Harry leant back quickly so they couldn't see him looking.**_

_**"You know the black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?"**_

_**"Who?"**_

_**"Harry Potter!"**_

_**Harry heard the little girl's voice.**_

_**"Oh, Mum, can I go on the train and see him, Mum, oh please ..."**_

_**"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"**_

_**"Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there - like lightning."**_

_**"Poor dear - no wonder he was alone. I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get on to the platform."**_

_**"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"**_

_**Their mother suddenly became very stern.  
"I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school."**_

_**"All right, keep your hair on."**_

"When I said to my mother once, she started screaming likle a benshee," muttered Sirius.

_**A whistle sounded.**_

_**"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered on to the train. They leant out of the window for her to kiss them goodbye and their youngest sister began to cry.**_

_**"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."**_

_**"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat."**_

The boys laughed and Molly frowned.

_**"George!"**_

_**"Only joking, Mum."**_

_**The train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed; then she fell back and waved.**_

"Awww…" coed the girls."

_**Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know where he was going to - but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind.**_

_**The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest red-headed boy came in.  
"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full."**_

_**Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose.**_

_**"Hey, Ron." **_

_**The twins were back.**_

_**"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train - Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."**_

_**"Right," mumbled Ron.**_

_**"Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."**_

_**"Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.**_

_**"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.**_

_**Harry nodded.**_

_**"Oh - well, I thought it might have been one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got - you know ..."**_

_**He pointed at Harry's forehead.**_

_**Harry pulled back his fringe to show the lightning scar. Ron stared.**_

_**"So that's where You-Know-Who-?"**_

"Didn't I forbid him form asking questions about that?" Molly asked.

"You only told that to the twins."

_**"Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it."**_

_**"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly.**_

_**"Well - I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else."**_

_**"Wow," said Ron.**_

_**He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again.**_

_**"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.**_

_**"Er - yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."**_

_**"So you must know loads of magic already."**_

_**The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about.**_

_**"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"**_

_**"Horrible - well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."**_

_**"Five," said Ron. **_

Arthur was now staring at the book wide eyed.

"SEVEN KIDS!!" screamed everyone.

"WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU DOING AFTER GETTING OUT OF SCHOOL?!" James screamed shocked while the adressed pair went scarlet.

_**For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was Head Boy**_

James and Sirius frowned at that.

_**and Charlie was captain of Quidditch.**_

"That's much better," said Sirius and James at the same time.

_**Now Percy's a Prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny.**_

"They are," said Sirius and James, grinning.

_**Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand and Percy's old rat."**_

They all looked at Peter while the rest only looked confused. "What?" he asked.

_**Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat grey rat, which was asleep.**_

"That really reminds me on someone." Remus said frowning.

_**"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up.**_

Sirius was about to make another comment, but Peter threw a cushion at him which he grabbed from one of the chairs by the fireplace.

_**Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a Prefect, but they couldn't aff- I mean, I got Scabbers instead."  
Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window.**_

_**Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, he'd never had any money in his life until a month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up.**_

_**" ... and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort -"**_

_**Ron gasped.**_

_**"What?" said Harry.**_

_**"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed.**_

_**"I'd have thought you, of all people-"**_

_**"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Harry. "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn ... I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."**_

_**"You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."**_

"Exactly!"

_**While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.**_

_**Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the trolley, dears?"**_

_**Harry, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor.**_

_**He had never had any money for sweets with the Dursleys and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry -**_

_**but the woman didn't have any Mars Bars. What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans, Droobles Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron cakes, Liquorice ands and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life.**_

_**Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.  
Ron stared as Harry brought it all back into the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.**_

_**"Hungry, are you?"**_

_**"Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.**_

_**Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches in there. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."**_

"I don't like corned beef either," stated Sirius.

_**"Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty.**_

"Awww," sighed Lily. „Our sons will become friends."

"I would be so happy." Molly said.

**"Go on -"**

**"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us."**

**"Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before, or, indeed, anyone to share it with.**

**It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties and cakes (the sandwiches lay forgotten).**

At that ev eryone started smiling.

**"What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not really frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him.**

**"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is, I'm missing Agrippa."**

"You are not the only one." The boys all said in union.

_**"What?"**_

_**"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know - Chocolate frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect - Famous Witches and Wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."**_

_**Harry unwrapped his Chocolate frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long crooked nose and flowing silver hair, beard and moustache.**_

_"Dumbledore," muttered everyone._

_**Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.**_

_**"So this is Dumbledore!" said Harry.**_

_**"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron.**_

_**"Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa - thanks -"**_

_**Harry turned over his card and read:**_

_**Albus Dumbledore, currently Headmaster of Hogwarts.  
Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.**_

_**Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.**_

_**"He's gone!"**_

_**"Well you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her ... do want it? You can start collecting."**_

_**Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.**_

_**"Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."**_

_**"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "Weird!"**_

_**Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back in the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them.**_

_**Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus and Merlin. He finally tore his eyes from the druidess Clidona, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans.**_

"And they do mean every flavor!' exclaimed Peter.

_**"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor - you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a bogey-flavored one once."**_

"Yuck!" muttered everyone, looking disgusted and glad that they'd never come across such a bean.

_**Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully and bit into a corner.**_

_**"Bleaaargh - see? Sprouts."**_

"Hey I like sprouts said Severus, Lucius and Remus together."

"You three are wierd…" Sirius commented.

_**They had a good time eating the Every-Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny grey one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.**_

_**The countryside now flying past the window was looking wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers and dark green hills.**_

_**There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful.**_

_**"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"**_

_**When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"**_

_**"He'll turn up," said Harry.**_

_**"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him..."**_

_**He left.**_

_**"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could.**_

_**Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."**_

_**The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.**_

_**"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust.**_

"Dare to comment on that one…" Peter growled while glaring at Sirius who gave him an innocent look.

_**"I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look..."**_

_**He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end.**_

_**"Unicorn hairs nearly poking out. Anyway -"**_

_**He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toad less boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.**_

_**"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said.**_

_**She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth.**_

"Not a flattering description, either," muttered James.

_**"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.**_

_**"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."**_

James and Sirius groaned. "Sounds like a know-it-all," said Sirius.

_**She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.**_

_**"Er - all right."**_

_**He cleared his throat.**_

_**"Sunshine, daises, butter mellow,  
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."**_

They burst out laughing.

_**He waved his wand, but nothing happened.**_

_**Scabbers stayed grey and fast asleep.**_

_**"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard –**_

Arthur needed to take a pouse to breath.

_**I've learnt all our set books off by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"  
She said all this very fast.**_

"That girl is a frightening combination of Moony, Lily and Severus." Sirius said shocked while the three mentioned people glared at him.

_**Harry looked at Ron and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learnt all the set books off by heart either.**_

_**"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.**_

_**"Harry Potter," said Harry.**_

_**"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course - I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."**_

James and Lily smiled proudly.

_**"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.**_

_**"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in?**_

"Gryffindor."

_**I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor,**_

Everyone groaned at this, for the girl really sounded annoying

_**It sounds by far the best,**_

"Well, that's true," said James.

_**I hear Dumbledore himself was one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."**_

_**And she left, taking the toad less boy with her.**_

_**"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron.**_

_**He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell - George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."**_

_**"What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry.  
"Gryffindor," said Ron.**_

_**Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mum and Dad were in it, too.**_

_**I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."**_

_**"That's the house Vol- I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"**_

_**"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat looking depressed.**_

_**"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers's whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry trying to take Ron's mind off houses.**_

_**"So what do your oldest brothers do now they've left, anyway?"  
Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school.**_

_**"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons**_

"Cool,"

"Oh no…" Molly whined.

_**and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron.**_

"That is better." Molly said.

_**Did you hear about the Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles - someone tried to rob a high-security vault."**_

The others looked at each other, frowning at this.

_**Harry stared.**_

_**"Really? What happened to them?"**_

_**"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd.**_

"The stone…" they said in union.

_**'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."**_

_**Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying 'Voldemort' without worrying.**_

"Dumbledore's right, you know," said Remus. "Fear of a name increases the fear of the thing itself." The others nodded in agrement.

_**"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.**_

"Ron likes Quidditch! Yes!" said James, jumping up and looking excited. The others gave him strange looks.

_**"Er - I don't know any," Harry confessed.**_

_**"What!" Ron looked dumfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the worl -" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he'd had the money.**_

_**He was just taking Harry through the finer point of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toad less boy or Hermione Granger this time.**_

_**Three boys entered and Harry recognized the middle one at once:**_

"And here we go again…" Lucius groaned.

_**It was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.**_

_**"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"**_

_**"Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing either side of the pale boy they looked like bodyguards.**_

_**"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking.**_

_**"And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."**_

"I can't take it…" Lucius groaned as he con jucted a second peace of pergamen and started writing on it.

_**Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.**_

_**"Think my name's funny, do you?**_

_**No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles and more children than they can afford."**_

"Sorry, my family's teaíchings must have really got through." Lucius said while still writing.

"Erm…what are you doing?" Frank asked the blond.

"Writing a list about the things I will yell at my family for doing to me and my son." He said.

"I'm nowe really hoping that he will manage it." Sirius said.

_**He turned back to Harry.  
"You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter.**_

_**You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort.**_

_**I can help you there."**_

_**He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.**_

"Good Harry." At that stared everyone wide eyed at Lucius.

_**"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.**_

_**Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.  
"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents.**_

Everyone glared at the book.

_**They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riff-raff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid and it'll rub off on you."**_

_**Both Harry and Ron stood up.**_

_**Ron's face was as red as his hair.  
"Say that again," he said.**_

_**"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" sneered Malfoy.**_

_**"Unless you get out now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron.**_

_**"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."**_

_**Goyle reached towards the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron -**_

_**Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.  
Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle -**_

"Well done, Peter!" cried Sirius, clapping Peter on the back, Peter grinned, though he did add that they didn't know if the rat was him.

_**Crabbe and Malfoy backed away.**_

_**As Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once.**_

_**Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking around the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard**__**footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.**_

_**"What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.**_

_**"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No - I don't believe it - he's gone back to sleep."**_

_**And so he had.**_

Everyone laughed, except Peter, who was pouting and the ones not understanding what was so funny.

_**"You've met Malfoy before?"**_

_**Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley.**_

_**"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."**_

"WHAT!!"

"This will be back home a rathetr long discussion…" Lucius hissed.

_**He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"**_

_**"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up the front to ask the driver and he says we're nearly there.**_

_**You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"**_

_**"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron.**_

_**"Would you mind leaving while we change?"**_

_**"All right - I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"**_

_**Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep-purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down.**_

_**He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his trainers underneath them.**_

_**"A voice echoed through the train: "we will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."**_

_**Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.**_

_**The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way towards the door and out onto a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here! All right there, Harry?"**_

_**Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.**_

_**"C'mon, follow me - any more firs'-years? Mind yer step, now! Firs'-years follow me!"**_

_**Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.**_

_**"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."**_

_**There was a loud "Oooooh!"**_

_**The narrow path had opened suddenly on to the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.**_

_"__**No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore.**_

_**Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione.**_

_**"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself, "Right then - FORWARD!"**_

_**And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the castle overhead.**_

_**It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.**_

_**"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy which had a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out on to rocks and pebbles.**_

_**"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.**_

_**"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last on to smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.**_

_**They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.**_

_**"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"  
Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.**_

"That's the end of the chapter." Arthur said.

"Ok, then I'm next." Said Lily smiling.

_To be continued… _

* * *

A/N: so I'm ready and have some time left to start the next chap…


	8. Surprise

A/N: well then, lets start the next chap…

P.S.: thank you all so much for the reviews

VIII. Surprise and _The Sorting Hat_

* * *

When Lily read the chapter title she imediately started smiling.

"It is about Harry's sorting." She said.

"Excelent."

_**The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there.**_

"Why can't she wear gold or red?" Sirius asked. "She is our Head of House for Merlin's shake!"

"Well yes, but she was actually a Ravenclaw." At that stared everyone at Severus who blushed. "I asked her once when we were playing chess on Friday."

"You were doing what?" James asked ina n unbelieving tone.

"Well Slughorn told her last year that I was good at chess and she invited me over and since then we are playing every Friday, but not today because she needed to go to London for the weekend." He said while the others were still staruing at him shocked, only the cat was purring happily.

_**She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross.**_

"You're right about that," said Lily. James and Sirius winced.

_**"The firs'-years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.**_

_**"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."**_

_**She pulled the door wide. The Entrance Hall was so gig you could have fitted the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.**_

_**They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right -**_

_**the rest of the school must already be here - but Professor McGonagall showed the first-years into a small empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.**_

_**"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term-banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room.  
The four houses are called Gryffindor,**_

"The best house."

_**Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards.**_

_**While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points.**_

"Only, Sirius and James haven't grasped that fact yet," said Remus.  
Sirius and James glared at him, the others grinned.

_**At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.**_

_**"The Sorting ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.**_

_**Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose.**_

_**Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair.**_

"Will not work." James said.

_**"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."  
She left the chamber. Harry swallowed.**_

_**"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Ron.**_

_**"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."**_

_**Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But he didn't know any magic yet - what on earth would he have to do?**_

_**He hadn't expected something like this the moment he arrived.**_

_**He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified too. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learnt and wondering which one she'd need.**_

James and Sirius looked annoyed.

_**Harry tried hard not to listen to her. He'd never been more nervous, never, not even when he'd had to take a school report home to**_** the Dursleys ****saying he'd somehow turned his teacher's wig blue.**

Everyonme started sniggering at this.

_**He kept his eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom.**_

_**Then something happened which made him jump about a foot in the air - several people behind him screamed.  
"What the -?"**_

_**He gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to each other and hardly glancing at the first-years.**_

_**They seemed to be arguing.**_

"Peeves," they all said.

_**What looked like a fat little monk was saying, "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance-"  
"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost - I say, what are you all doing here?"  
A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first-years.**_

_**Nobody answered.**_

_**"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be sorted, I suppose?"**_

_**A few people nodded mutely.**_

_**"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."**_

_**"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."**_

_**Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.**_

_**"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first-years, "and follow me."**_

_**Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Ron behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.**_

_**Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first-years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them.**_

_**The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."**_

"Someone's actually read that?" asked Remus shocked.

_**It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open up to the heavens.**_

_**Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first-years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat.**_

_**This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house.**_

_**Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it, Harry thought wildly,**_

_**that seemed the sort of thing - noticing that everyone in the Hall was now staring at the hat, he stared at it too.**_

_**For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth - and the hat began to sing:**_

_**"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.  
You might belong in Gryffindor**_

_**Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;**_

_**You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find there kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin**_

_**You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folk use any means  
To achieve their ends.**_

_**So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!**_

"The poem was nice." Lily said.

_**The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.  
"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."**_

The boys laughed.

"I will seriously need to talk with that boy after he is born." Molly said sighing.

_**Harry smiled weakly. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to do a spell, but he wished he could have tried it on without everyone watching.**_

_**The hat seemed to be asking rather a lot; Harry didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment.**_

_**If only the hat had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for him.**_

_**Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.**_

_**When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"  
A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause - "HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.**_

_**The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.**_

_**"Bones, Susan!"**_

_**"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.**_

"Looks like not all Bones are gone." James said.

_**"Boot, Terry!"**_

_**"RAVENCLAW!"**_

_**The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.**_

_**"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor**_

James and Sirius started cheering.

_**and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling.**__  
"__**Bulstrode, Millicent"**_

_**then became the first Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked an unpleasant lot.**_

"Hey!" said four Slytherin sounding offended and even the cat gave a his.

_**He was starting to feel definitely sick now. He remembered being picked for teams during sports lessons at his old school. He had always been last to be chosen, not because he was no good, but because no one wanted Dudley to think they like him.**_

_**"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"**_

_**"HUFFLEPUFF!"**_

_**Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus", the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.**_

_**"Granger, Hermione!"**_

_**Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.**_

_**"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.**_

_**Ron groaned.**_

_**A horrible thought struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous.**_

_**What if he wasn't chosen at all?**_

"That won't happen!" exclaimed James.

_**What if he just sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he'd better get back on the train?**_

_**When Neville Longbottom, **_

At that stared everyone at Frank and Alice.

"My son, but why was he with my mother and not with us?" Frank asked.

"I don't hjave an all to gtood feeling about that mate." Sirius said.

_**the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool.**_

"He comes after you Alice." Frank said grinning.

"Shut up."

_**The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted "GRYFFINDOR",**_

"YAY!!" Aléice and Frank cheered in union.

_**Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."**_

_**Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"**_

"No surprise there."

_**Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.**_

_**There weren't many people left now.**_

_**"Moon" ... "Nott" ... "Parkinson ... then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" ... then "Perks, Sally-Anne" ... and then, at last- "Potter, Harry!"**_

_**As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.**_

_**"Potter, did she say?"**_

_**"The Harry Potter?"**_

_**The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the Hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited.**_

_**"Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult.**_

"No, it isn't!" exclaimed James, starting to look nervous. "Just shout 'Gryffindor'! It's really easy!"

_**Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind, either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes - and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting ... So where shall I put you?"**_

"Gryffindor, of course!" yelled Sirius and James.

_**Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, "Not Slytherin, not Slytherin."**_

"Good, Harry," muttered James.

_**"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure?**_

_**You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that -**_

At that stared everyone wide eyed at the book.

"Why wants the Hat Harry in Slytherin?" Remus asked.

"NO!!" James and Sirius screamed.

_**no?**_

"Yes, it's no!" yelled Peter, jumping up and surprising everyone.

_**Well, if you're sure -**_

_**better be GRYFFINDOR!"**_

They all looked relieved.

"A Potter in Slytherin? Our House would be doomed." Said Severus as the caqt gave a chuckling like sound.

_**Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole Hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily towards the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"**_

They all laughed.

_**Harry sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff he'd seen earlier. The ghost patted his arm, giving Harry the sudden, horrible feeling he'd just plunged into a bucket of ice-cold water.**_

Peter shivered and said, "I hate it when they do that!"

_**He could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs-up. Harry grinned back. And there, in the centre of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognized him at once from the card he'd got out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole Hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. Harry spotted Professor Quirrell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban. **_

_**And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Turpin, Lisa" became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now.**_

"Poor Ron," said Lily and the other girls.

_**Harry crossed his fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"**_

_**Harry clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair next to him.**_

_**"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Harry as "Zabini, Blaise" was made a Slytherin.**_

_**Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.**_

_**Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago.**_

_**Albus Dumbledore had got to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.**_

"Dumbledore never changes, does he?" said Sirius.

_**"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"**_

They looked at each other, puzzled.

_**He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not.**_

_**"Is he - a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly.**_

"Only at the moment when he left you by the Dursleys."

_**"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"  
Harry's mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup and, for some reason, mint humbugs.**_

_**The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry, but he'd never been allowed to eat as much as he liked. Dudley had always taken anything that Harry wanted, even if it made him sick.**_

"Brat," they all muttered again.

_**Harry piled his plate with a bit of everything except the humbugs and began to eat. It was delicious.**_

_**"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry cut up his steak.  
"Can't you-?"**_

_**"I haven't eaten for nearly four hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicolas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."**_

_**"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you - you're Nearly Headless Nick!"**_

They all burst out laughing.

_**"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy -" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnegan interrupted.**_

_**"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?"  
Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted.**_

_**"Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell on to his shoulder as if it was on a hinge.**_

"Ugh," they all said. Peter shuddered.

"Cheap Executor." Severus said.

_**Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back on to his neck, coughed and said, "So - new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the House Championship this year? Gryffindor have never gone so long without winning.**_

"WHAT?" shouted the Gryffindor side.

_**Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row!**_

"NOOOO!'" shouted Sirius and James.

Lily and Remus both looked shocked and Peter said, "That hasn't happened before!" meanwhile were the Slytherins who in the room cheerin g for they House.

_**The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable - he's the Slytherin ghost."**_

_**Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, Harry was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements.**_

"That was the same by me." Lucius said.

_**"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.**_

_**"I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately.**_

_**When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the puddings appeared. Blocks of ice-cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, rice pudding...**_

_**As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to their families.**_

_**"I'm half and half," said Seamus. "Me Dad's a Muggle. Mam didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."**_

They all laughed.

_**The others laughed.**_

_**"What about you, Neville?" said Ron.**_

_**"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was a Muggle for ages.**_

"Does he mean a Squib?" asked Remus.  
"Probably."

_**My great-uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me - he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned - but nothing happened until I was eight. Great-uncle Algie came round for tea and was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my great-auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go.**_

"What!!" yelled Alice as she jumped up to her feet. "Granuncle Algie wait tilolo UI get home you will hear from me about letting my son fall!" she roared.

_**But I bounced - all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased. Gran was crying, she was so happy.**_

"Awww," the girls cooed.

_**And you should have seen their faces when I got in here - they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great-uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad.**_

_**On Harry's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons (I do hope they start straight away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else,**_

"She's interested in Transfiguration!" said James. "Hermione isn't so bad after all!"

_**of course, it's supposed to be very difficult -"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing -")  
Harry, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the high table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose and sallow skin.**_

Everyone was now staring againa t the book.

"If this means what I think then it is not a flathering description." Severus said.

"Well you could try to do something with your hair." James said.

"He can't" at that everyone stared at Lucius ans Lily.

"What?"

"His hair gets like this four hours after being washed." KLily explained.

"I need to agree with her." Lucius said.

"Oh…" was the other's only response.

_**It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes - and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead.**_

"What is wrong?"

_"__**Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head.**_

_**"What is it?" asked Percy.**_

_**"N-nothing."**_

_**The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off the feeling Harry had from the teacher's look - a feeling that he didn't like Harry at all.**_

_**"Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" he asked Percy.**_

_**"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape.**_

At that everyone stared wide eyed at Severus.

"Wow Sev, congratulations." Lily said smilinmg at her childhood friend while Lucius patted him on the back.

"Great job Sev." He said smiling.

_**He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to - everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job.**_

_**Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape.**_

"Well, he is one of the bests in class." James said.

_**Harry watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn't look at him again.**_

_**At last, the puddings too disappeared and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The Hall fell silent.**_

_**"Ahem - just a few more words now we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you."**_

_**First-years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils.**_

"Only James and Sirius keep forgetting that every time!" said Remus, looking annoyed.

_**And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."**_

_**Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.**_

Molly was now looking disaprowing at the book.

_**"I have also been asked my Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used in the corridors.  
Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a most painful death."**_

_**Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did.**_

_**"He's not serious?" he muttered to Percy.**_

_**"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere - the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I think he might have told us Prefects, at least."**_

"That is true." Lucius said.

_**"And now before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed.**_

_**Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick as if he were trying to get a fly off the end and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself snake-like into words.**_

_**"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"  
And the school bellowed:**_

"Lily, please skip the song!" yelled everyone in panic .

_**Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march.**_

Everyone laughed.

_**Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand, and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped **_

_**"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"  
The Gryffindor first-years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase.**_

_**Harry's legs were like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Harry was wondering how much further they had to go when they came to a sudden halt.**_

_**A bundle of walking sticks was floating in mid-air ahead of them and as Percy took a step towards them they started throwing themselves at him.**_

"Peeves," muttered Sirius. The others nodded in agreement.

_**"Peeves," Percy whispered to the first-years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves - show yourself."  
A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.**_

And everyone was back to laughing again.

_**"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"**_

"Threatening him with the Baron," said Sirius, "that's low!"

_**There was a pop and a little man with wicked dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.**_

"He's cool and annoying at the same time!" exclaimed James and Sirius together. Lily looked disgusted the others only shook they heads.

_**"Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle firsties! What fun!"**_

_**He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked.**_

_**"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.**_

_**Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed.**_

They were all laughing again.

_**"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy as they set off again.**_

"Bit of an understatement, isn't it?" commented Sirius, laughing_._

_**"The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us Prefects. Here we are."**_

_**At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.**_

_**"Password?" she said.**_

_**"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it - Neville needed a leg up -**_

"Aww…" coed Alice. "He is so cute…"

_**and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.**_

_**Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase - they were obviously in one of the towers - they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep-red velvet curtains.**_

"Nothing's changed, then," observed Sirius_._

_**Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed.**_

_**"Great food, isn't it?" Ron muttered to Harry through the hangings. "Get off, Scabbers! He's chewing my sheets."**_

Peter was glaring again at a grinning Sirius.

_**Harry was going to ask Ron if he'd had any of the treacle tart, but he fell asleep almost at once**__. __**Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream.**_

_**He was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to him, telling him he must transfer to Slytherin at once,**_

Sirius frowned at this.

_**because it was his destiny.**_

_**Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin;**_

"Good, Harry, very good," muttered James.

_**it got heavier; he tried to pull it off, but it tightened painfully - and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled with it -**_

_**then Malfoy turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laugh became high and cold - there was a burst of green light and Harry woke, sweating and shaking.**_

James and Lily looked at the book sadly.

_**He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke next day, he didn't remember the dream at all.**_

"Great I always wanted to be a child's nightmare." Severus said sighing.

"Don't worry Sev, oh…" she said smiling as she looked back up from the book. "I think you would want to read next." She said as she gave the book to the confused boy.

_To be continued… _

* * *

A/N: so a new chapter is also ready…


	9. She meant it good

* * *

A/N: so guys here is the next chap. Well I think we all know that Lily thought that Severus would be happy to read a chapter over himself as a teacher, but even if she meant it in the name of good she has only read the chapter title…

IX. She meant it good and _The Potions Master _

* * *

Saverus looked down on the title of the next chapter, his pale cheeks tinted with a little tint of pink.

"Uhm…Severus, what is wrong?" Lucius asked as he walked up behind the blackhead and peered down at the title, a smile appearing on his lips. "Wow." He said. "So guys the next chapter title is, even if our friend here is to modest to read it out loud, the title is _**The Potions Master**_."

"What!! He gets his own chapter?" Sirius asked shocked about the fact that he got only two lines with his name in it and they favorite '_victim'_ is not only a teacher, but he also gets his own chapter. Something was terribly wrong with the picture.

"Yes and now Sev start reading." Lucius said but staid on his place behind Severus.

"What? Oh…ok sorry…" he said.

_**"**__**There**__**, **__**look**__**."**_

_**"**__**Where**__**?"**_

_**"**__**Next**__**to**__**the**__**tall**__** kid **__**with**__**the**__**red**__**hair**__**."**_

"That still doesn't sound all to flattering." Both Arthur and Molly said in union.

_**"**__**Wearing**__**the**__**glasses**__**?"**_

_**"**__**Did**__**you**__**see**__**his**__**face**__**?"**_

_**"**__**Did**__**you**__**see**__**his**__**scar**__**?"**_

_**Whispers**__**followed**__** Harry **__**from**__**the**__**moment**__** he **__**left**__**his**__**dormitory**__**the**__**next**__**day**__**.**_

"Now that must be annoying for both of them." Lily said in a thoughtful voice, the others nodded.

"Poor Ron, he will never get out of Harry's shadow." Alice said.

"Well I think Harry already hates being popular." Remus said.

"What is wrong about being popular?" Sirius asked, the others meanwhile choose not to answer that one.

_**People**__**queuing**__**outside**__**classrooms**__**stood**__**on**__**tiptoe**__**to**__**get**__** a **__**look**__**at**__**him**__**, **__**or**__**doubled**__**back**__**to**__**pass**__**him**__** in the corridors again, staring. Harry **__**wished**__**they**__**wouldn't**__**, because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes.**_

"That sounds annoying," commented Lily.

"It probably is."

_**There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts:**_

Everyone was staring wide eyed at the book.

"Someone actually counted them?" Frank asked in disbelief.

"Ugh…my feat are already starting to hurt while only hearing about them." Peter said while rubbing his feat.

_**wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked them politely,**_

"Ah yes I still remember that nice door on the sixth floor." Severus said smiling while he was looking at a glaring Sirius, this ont he other hand got the others curious.

"What happened?" James asked.

"Nothing…" Sirius hissed under his breath.

"Well Sirius once asked it why it only allows Slytherins and Rawenclaws to enter, well the door opened for him, buta s he wanted to step inside it flew shut hitting Sirius right int he face." Severus said grinning while the others bust out laughing.

After everyone calmed down after a while looked Lily over to Severus.

"What is actually int hat room?" she asked.

"That is easy, Madam Prince made a reading room there with horror novels and some dark poetry, there are some interesting muggle books." Narcissa explained and now was everyone staring wide eyed at the three Slytherin.

Ok the Ravenclaws reading muggle books would be nothing new they love to gain as many knowledge as they can get, but Slytherin?

"Well I once borrowed Sev's _Edgar Alan Poe _book and I found that it was rather interesting and then he showed me that reading book and so slowly even the older Slytherin started to visit it together with the Ravenclaws, strangely we get allong." Lucius said so he missed the little smile on his friends face, the cat giving again a little pur.

_**or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending.**_

"Peter knows those, he once run against one in full speep." Sirius said sounding still disappointed that the big secret was a room full with books, and for that did he nearly break his poor nose.

"It hurt…" Peter said.

_**It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot.**_

"Of course it does, this castle is alive…" at that turned everyone shocked to the deceased Headmaster's portrait.

"A…alive…?" Peter squeaked as he hid behind James.

"Wow…cool a living castle." Sirius said looking excited.

"Wow that must have taken a lot of great magical power." Lily said.

"Yes it has and every Headmaster usually gives his own magical power to the castle when they pass away and that is the ground why Hogwarts is such a powerful place." Phineas said smiling as he saw the awe filled faces of the children. "And now continue reading.

"Uh…yes…"

_**The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other and Harry was sure the coats of armor could walk.**_

"Of course they can." Sirius said.

"Walked in to one with Sirius on one of our _'walks.'"_James said.

"Got detenation for a month." Sirius ended.

_**The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open.**_

_**Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop waste-paper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"**_

Everyone was laughing again.

"It's really annoying when Peeves does it to you, but when you read about it, it's really funny!" exclaimed James.

"I need to agree on this one." Remus said.

**Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch.**

"Yeah, he is worse," said James.

"Don't tell me he is still there?" Remus asked frowning.

"Looks like it." Severus said.

_**Harry and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of Filch on their very first morning.**_

"Wow, that beats us," said James, looking deeply impressed.

"Hey Prongs, Lily, Arthur, Molly your sons beat us with one day." Sirius said.

_**Filch found them trying to force their way through a door which unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor**_**.**

"They even found the entrance to the forbidden corridor! Those kids are great" exclaimed Sirius, looking impressed.

_**He wouldn't believe they were lost,**_

"Does Filch ever believe the stories of a student?" asked Remus.

"Doubt it." replied Sirius.

"Well, he did believe me when I got once lost with Severus on our second day when we wanted to go to the library." Lily said.

"Yes he did, and even showed us the right way." Severus said.

"What!" exclaimed both James and Sirius shocked. It was already shocking that Flich believed a student, but even helping a student?

_**was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing.**_

"Thank goodness he was there," said Sirius, looking relieved.

James looked a little suspicious after hearing this. "Why would Quirrell be there in all places? He is in Slytherin, after all, and the only decent Slytherin I've ever met in my live was Slughorn." He said as he suddenly remembered the little fact that he was sitting in a room which belonged once to the founder of the Slytherin house, with three Slytherin students from which one was curently reading the book and the portrait of a former Headmaster, who just happened to be a Slytherin himself. "Would you all excuse me." James said as he walked in to the closet.

_I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!! _

Then the door opened again and James joined the others.

"Severus please contine." Lily said while shaking her head in mock sorrow.

_**Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris,**_

The whole group started grimacing.

"You don't think that it is the same cat he has now?" James asked, looking unsure.

"Well after my knowing can cats only live twenty human years or a little more." Lily said.

"Well according to Professor McGonagall was she already a grown cat when Flinch started working here." Severus said in a thoughtful voice.

"You know that it is frightening that you spend your Friday evenings by our Head of House in her office." Sirius said while gesturing with his arms.

"Erm…not fully…" Severus said blushing as every gaze turned to him, some curious, some suspicious.

"Then where exactly are you two playing chess?" James asked, having a strange feeling that he and Sirius would need to use the closet after the answer.

"Uhm…in her private chambers in front of her fireplace." He said as almost everyone's jaws dropped in shock while James grabbed Sirius and dragged him inside the closet.

"_**OUR OWN HEAD OF HOUSE SPENDS HER FRIDAY EVENING PLAYING CHESS WITH A SLYTHERIN IN HER PRIVATE CHAMBERS!!" **_they heard the two boys scream.

"Wow nice…" was the only thing Lucius could say to his friend while Narcissa smiled.

_**a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp-like eyes just like Filch's. **_

"Yep, that is her." Peter said shuddering after James and Sirius joined them, panting slightly.

_**She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later.**_

"I swear you squids and they cats have some sort of telepathic connection with each other." Sirius exclaimed.

_**Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins)**_

"And us four," said James proudly. They all grinned at each other.

_**and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick.**_

"We all know what you mean and did it already." Sirius said grinning and the others nodded, well except one.

"What about you Severus?" James asked.

"Well, she seems to like me." He said.

_**And then, once you managed to find them, there were the lessons themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words.**_

"That is exact." Lily said while nodding.

_**They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars**_

"Our family is obsessed with them." Said Narcissa and Sirius in union.

_**and the movements of the planets.**__**Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learnt how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi and found out what they were used for.**_

"I love that class." Alice said smiling who was the best in Herbology.

_**Easily the most boring lesson was History of Magic,**_

"Agreed," everyone muttered.

_**Which was the only class taught by a ghost.**_

"Ugh…old Binns is still teaching that?" James asked.

"Looks like it."

"A new teacher would do wonders." Remus said the others nodding at this.

_**Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff-room fire and got up the next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him.**_

"That is what I call an obsessive teacher." Lucius said.

_**Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates and got Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up.**_

"Happened to us to."

_**Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to be seen over his desk.**_

"I love Flitwick," said Lily. "He's my favorite teacher!" The others gave her looks.

"Well you are his best student."

_**At the start of their first lesson he took the register, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.**_

Everyone bust out laughing at this.

_**Professor McGonagall was again different.**_

"So true." Said the whole group and James and Sirius even shuddered.

_**Harry had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross.**_

"That's an understatement." said Sirius the others nodded.

_**Strict and clever,**_

"You're not kidding!" exclaimed James, wincing.

_**she gave them a talking-to the moment they had sat down in her first class.**_

_**"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."**_

"Yes, we know that lecture." James said.

"And you still didn't listen." Severus growled remembering they first class where James and Sirius transfigured his clothes to flash out '_I'm in love with my books'_.

"Ah…yes…" said James winching as he remembered that after that action Lily transfigured his and Sirius's robes to flash _'We love Slughorn he is sexy' _so that it only flashed up in Potion's. Poor Slughorn nearly got a heart attack when seing that.

_**Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again.**_

_**They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time.**_

_**After making a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle.**_

"Simple!" said James, "I was able to do that on my very first lesson! I hope Harry does as well!"

_**By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match; Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile.**_

"Darn!" said James. "I was hoping he'd inherited my talent for Transfiguration."

"Maybe he inherited my talent for Charms," said Lily.

"I would more hope that he has your talent in Potions." Severus said hopefully then James blew up his cauldron two minutes after the class ha started.

_**The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts,**_

"Everyone likes that subject," commented Remus.

"Not with Quirrell teaching it…" growled the three Slytherin in union.

"Come on he can't be that bad." James said, but gulped immediately after seing the looks they gave him.

_**but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke.**_

"We told you."

_**His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days.**_

"Oh goody, his paranoia will get wors." Narcissa said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

_**His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnegan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; **_

"Is that guy really a Slytherin?" Sirius asked confused.

"As already pointed out our whole House is still trying to figure out how he managed to get in." Lucius said sounding annoyed.

"And that idiot is teaching our children?" Lily said shocked.

"He is the worst they had choosen so far for that job." James exclaimed.

_**for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went.**_

"What kind of Defense teacher is he?" asked James, looking disgusted.

"An idiotic one." Said the three snakes.

_**Harry was very relieved to find out that he wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like him, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start.**_

_**Friday was an important day for Harry and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.**_

"Great work."

_**"What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge.  
"Double Potions with the Slytherins," said Ron.**_

"Still the same then, Severus continue." Said Frank, but the other was frozen again.

"Uh…Lucius if you would be so kind." Alice said to the blond.

_**"Snape's head of Slytherin house. **_"Wow, Slytherin will have a long winning session with you as they head." Lucius said grinning to his friend.

"Uhm…thanks…."

_**They all say he favors them - we'll be able to see if it's true."**_

"That isn't new that the Slytherin are most of the time only favored by they Head of House." Lily said.

_**"Wish McGonagall favored us," said Harry.**_

"Only in your dreams Harry." James said.

_**Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor house, but it hadn't stopped her giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.**_

_**Just then, the post arrived. Harry had got used to this by now, but it had given him a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners and dropping letters and packages on to their laps.**_

_**Hedwig hadn't brought Harry anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nibble his ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls.**_

_**This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note on to Harry's plate. Harry tore it open at once.**_

_**Dear Harry,**__** (it said, in a very untidy scrawl)**_

"Hagrid," they all muttered.

_**I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig.  
Hagrid.**_

"Awww," cooed Lily. "That's really nice of him.

_**Harry borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled 'Yes, please, see you later' on the back of the note and sent off Hedwig again.  
It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to him so far.**_

They all watched Severus paling a bit after he read a bit forth then looked with a dark gaze at a certain duo.

"I apologize by Lily and the others for my comming actions as Lucius, and I have the feeling that in the comming four years I will have rather much '_funn times'_ with you two that I have turnd out like this." He said as he continued reading.

_**At the start-of-term-banquet, Harry had got the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong.**_

They all looked now even puzzled by this. "Does this mean you like Harry?" asked Lily.

"I fear not fully…" Severus said in a strange voice.

_**Snape didn't dislike Harry - he hated him.**_

"Ugh…apology accepted and we will not judge you." Lily said as she glared at the others with a daring look.

_**Potions lessons took place in one of the dungeons.**_

"Why did you move the class down there?" Remus asked confused.

"Don't know, but considering that our common room and dorms are down there plus Slughorn sor later my private chambers are down there this seems like a plausible idea." Severus said while raising a brow.

_**It was colder here than up in the main castle and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.**_

Most members of the group shuddered at this.

"You have got there some twisted decorations idea mate." James said.

_**Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the register, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name.**_

"Ugh…" Severus flinched.

"I don't like his reaction about something his future self will do." James said.

_**"Ah, yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new - celebrity."**_

James and Sirius were about to comment, but a glare by the female side of the group stopped them.

"And you know that some of this is your foult James." Lily said and James sighed. She was right, he didn't know and if it weren't for this book he would never know that the blackhead gwoed up with an abusive and alcohilic father and that he and Sirius tormented him for seven years in the only place in the world where he felt himself safe.

_**Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands.**_

_**Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels.**_

"W…what in MERLIN'S NAME ARE YOU ALL DOING!?" Severus yelled panicked, face flushed crimson as he noticed that everyone was only inches away from his face.

"Wow, the book was right." Frank commented.

"Yes, they are really like dark tunnels." Molly said.

"Can I please finally get over this horryble chapter?" he asked an d everyone sat back on they places.

_**"You are here to learn the subtle science, and exact art of potion-making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word - like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.**_

"…"

_**"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death -**_

Suddenly was everyone staring in a strange way at Severus.

"What?" he asked.

"You are way to obsessive with Potions…." Sirius said.

"Tse…ugh…ok Sirius, James I don't know what you did that I become an addult like this, but please don't do it…" Severus whined as he finished the sentence.

_**if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."**_

Everyone gasped while he let his head drop.

_**More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.**_

_**"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"**_

"We didn't learn that till second year!" exclaimed Lily.

"I know…" he whined.

_**Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was, Hermione's hand shot into the air.**_

_**"I don't know, sir," said Harry.**_

"You shouldn't be polite to him, Harry!" said James.

"But he's a teacher," pointed out Lily.

_**Snape's lips curled into a sneer.  
"Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything."  
He ignored Hermione's hand.**_

_**"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"**_

_**Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was.**_

"Isn't it a thing from a goat?" asked Alice.

"Yep," answered Remus.

_**He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter.**_

James began muttering under his breath.

_**"I don't know, sir."  
"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"**_

"See, this is what happens when you go around bullying Severus!" snapped Lily, glaring at James.

_**There was a rummage for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor house for your cheek, Potter."**_

"WHAT!" roared James and Severus let out a miserable sound.

_**Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Snape expect him to remember everything in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?**_

_"_Obviously," they all muttered.

_**Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand.  
"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"**_

"There is no difference," muttered Remus darkly.

_**At this, Hermione stood up, he hand stretching towards the dungeon ceiling.  
"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"**_

_**A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus's eye and Seamus winked. Snape, however, was not pleased.**_

_**"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"**_

_**Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone, except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like.**_

_**He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes.**_

_**Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.**_

_**"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"**_

"HEY!" Frank growled.

"Ugh…he has got my tallent for this subject…"Alice said groaning.

_**Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.  
"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.**_

"I suppose he'll blame Harry for it and take off more points," muttered James bitterly.

_**"You - Potter - why didn't you tell him not to add the quills?**_

"Because he was busy making the potion!" Severus said in a pained voice, Lily looking sadly at her friend. Yes she was angry at him for how he threatened her son, but she also felt sad for him then everyone could clearly see how the knowledge about what bitter man he will become tormented him.

_**Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."**_

_**This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron.**_

_**"Don't push it," he muttered. "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty."**_

_**As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week -**_

"It's not so bad," said Sirius. "James and I lost about forty points on our first week."

_**why did Snape hate him so much?**_

"Because he thinks you're like me!" exclaimed James angrily. _'Great work James…' _

_**"Cheer up," said Ron.**_

"Yeah, listen to Ron," said Remus. "James and Sirius lose an average of fifty points a week while they're at Hogwarts." James glared at him and Sirius threw a cushion which the other blocked.

_**"Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?"  
At five to three they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.**_

_**When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "Back, Fang - Back."**_

"Wow so that puppy grew up." Sirius asked smiling, he loved to play with the pup in his grimm form.

_**Hagrid's big hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.  
"Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang."**_

_**He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound.**_

_**There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.**_

_**"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears.**_

"He loves to do that with Sirius to." Remus said laughing.

"Well that pupp has taste." Sirius said grinning and the suddenly glared at everyone. "I'm not gay…" he growled.

_**Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.  
"This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes on to a plate.**_

They all winced, for they all had experience with Hagrid's cooking while the others could guess what it was like.

_**"Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. "I spend half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the Forest."**_

"And the other half with chasing me and Paddy away." James said grinning.

_**The rock cakes almost broke their teeth, but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid about their first lessons.**_

"Awwww," cooed Lily. "They're so nice and polite!"

_**Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled over his robes.**_

Everyone laughed and winced at the same time.

_**Harry and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch "that old git."**_

_**"AN' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang some time.**_

"Wow, great idea."

_**D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her - Filch puts her up to it."**_

_**Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told Harry no to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students.**_

_**"But he seemed to really hate me."**_

"Actually, he really does," commented Peter.

_**"Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?"**_

James began laughing bitterly. "Hmm, maybe it's because of us Marauders?" he said while feeling Lucius's glare at him.

_**Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that.**_

"He probably only said it to make Harry fell better," said Remus thoughtfully.

_**"How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron.**_

_**"I liked him a lot - great with animals."  
Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose.**_

"Probably." said Sirius.

_**While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cosy. It was a cutting from the Daily Prophet:**_

_**GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST  
Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of dark wizards or witches unknown.  
Gringotts' goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day. "But we're not telling what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokes goblin this afternoon.**_

_**Harry remembered Ron telling him on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date.**_

_**"Hagrid!" said Harry. "That Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!"**_

"So Harry's birthday is on July 31!" exclaimed Lily excitedly.

_**There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time. He grunted and offered him another rock cake.**_

"Trying to change the subject aging?" said James, lifting a brow.

_**Harry read the story again. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day. Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying,**_

_**taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for?**_

"That is for sure."

_**As Harry and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse, Harry thought that none of the lessons so far had given him as much to think about as tea with Hagrid.**_

_**Had Hagrid collected that package just in time?**_

_**Where was it now?**_

"Probably in the forbidden corridor," said Sirius.

_**And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell Harry?**_

"Probably," said Remus.

"This was finally the end of the chap." Severus said as he put both the cat and the book on the ground as he stood up. "And now if you would excuse me, I'm going to throw myself from the Astronomy tower." He said as he made his way to the entrance as he was suddenly tackled by Lucius, Remus, Arthur, Sirius, James and Frank, Peter was holding the book.

"Oh no, you will stay and read with us." James said.

"Why, to listen about what I bitter git I will become, well thank you, but I'm not interested." He said as he tried to get out of they hold.

"Severus, we all need to stay here and read, and you will to please…"

At that Severus imediately stopped strungling and looked wide eyed at Sirius, the others doing the same.

"What?" Sirius said blushing as they all sat down again.

"Peter, would you start please?" Molly asked.

"Sure."

_To becontinued…_

* * *

A/N: so an other chapter is ready…


	10. A what

A/N: and now we let Peter read…

X. A what…and _The Midnight Duel _

* * *

At that were all four girls frowning at the book.

"I don't like the sound of this." Molly said as she glared at the grinning boys, Severus was still looking depressed as he petted the cat in is lap. _'Poor thing.'_ She thought after hearing from Lily what James and Sirius liked to do to him, plus a brief explaining about how bad Severus's father was.

_**Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy. **_

They heard a groan from Lucius as said boy grabbed his list again together with his quill after hearing the name of his son.

_**Still, first-year Gryffindors only had potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with Malfoy much.**_

_**Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room which made them groan. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday - and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.**_

"Typical," muttered James.

"Transfigurations, Potions and Flying are always together." Frank said.

**"Typical," said Harry darkly.**

The others looked at James, who said, "He's my son! We're bound to sometimes say the same thing!" he said, but the others were still staring at him.

_**"Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."**_

James opened his mouth to reply at this, but was beaten from someone other.

"Believe me, you wn't blame yourself." And so was everyone staring again, well except Severus, shocked at Lucius.

**He had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else.**

_"Don't worry," said James. "You probably inherited my flying and Quidditch talent." Lily rolled her eyes._

_**"You don't know you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."**_

"I don't think it'll be all talk," said Sirius.

"That is true, you are one of the best Keepers and a great Captain." James said and if he said such a thing about one other player then he was always saying the truth.

"Uhm…thanks James." Lucius said blushing at the comment.

_**Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot.**_

"That's because it's the best!" exclaimed James happily.

"There's more to life than just flying and Quidditch!" exclaimed Lily. Frank, Arthur, Sirius and James gave her shocked looks.

_**He complained loudly about first-years never getting in the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories which always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters.**_

"My son will not fly around when helicopters are flying int hat moment!" Narcissa yelled after Lily explained to her what a helicopter was.

Lucius was meanwhile writing on his list.

_**He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick.**_

"That's more believable," said Sirius.

_**Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hand-glider on Charlie's old broom.**_

_**Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly.**_

"Well, it is the best game ever!" said Sirius.

_**Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about football.**_

"That's the game the Muggles like to watch, right?" asked Peter. Lily nodded.

_**Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly. Harry had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham football team, trying to make the players move.**_

They all began laughing.

_**Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one.**_

"Ugh…Alice, he has inherited your flying skills to…." Frank said to his blushing girlfriend.

_**Privately, Harry felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground.**_

"Like me," said Peter, sounding gloomy.

"Or me…" Alice whined.

"You two not always so clumsy," said James, trying to make Peter and Alice feel better.

_**Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was.**_

"That's because you can't learn it from a book," said Sirius, sounding amused.

_**This was something you couldn't learn be heart out of a book - not that she hadn't tried.**_

"For the love of Merlin!" muttered Sirius.

_**At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd got out of a library book called **__**Quidditch through the Ages.**_

"That's a good book," said James. "I've read it."

"You know that book in and out." Remus said while rolling his eyes.

_**Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the post.**_

_**Harry hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course.**_

"It doesn't matter if Harry doesn't get any mail!" said James.

_**Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table.**_

"Narcissa dear, considering that he loves them are they not your cooking." Lucius said as he earned a glare from the pouting blond.

"Eh…?"

"You remember the time when both me and Sev," with that he threw a look at the still gloomy looking boy "were not in our classes for nearly a month?" everyone nodded. "Well, Narcissa le tus try her self-made cookies. According to Madam Pomfrey our face color went through the whole rainbow color line and then we fainted and were out for a whole week." He said. "Don't worry Cissa, you still managed better then Bella with Rudolphus." Lucius said.

"What happened?" Sirius asked excited.

"Well he turned blue, then purple then green and then he blew fire and then he run around in circles like mad and then run against the wall and knocked himself out." Narcissa said and Sirius broke out in hysterical laughter by which the others also joined in except one.

_**A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them all a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.**_

"Sounds like a Rememerball," said Sirius. "Didn't you have one, Peter?"

"Yeah," responded Peter. "But I lost it again." He said blushing.

"I still have mine." Frank said proudly as he took the ball from his pocket.

"Uhm…Frank, the smoke is red." Arthur pointed out.

"Erm…probably wasn't that important." Frank said as he put it away.

_

* * *

_

_Meanwhile in front of the castle… _

"Frank? Frank, this isn't funny, you were suposed to be here since two hours…" Martrin Abboth looked around. And then it also started to rain. "Longbottom, you are so death…" he growled.

_

* * *

_

_Back by the others… _

_**"It's a Rememberall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things - this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red - oh..." His face fell, because the Rememberall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "... you've forgotten something..."**_

_**Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Rememberall out of his hand.**_

_**Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy, but Professor McGonagall who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash.**_

"How does she do that?' asked James, frowning.

"It gets annoying," added Sirius.

"I agree…" Lucius said while turning back to his list.

_**"What's going on?"**_

_**"Malfoy's got my Rememberall, Professor."**_

_**Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Rememberall back on the table.  
"Just looking," he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.**_

"Why are those two always with him?" asked Lily.

"Bodyguards like they fathers were for me, but I told them to stop it after second year." The blond said.

"Aha…"

_**At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Ron and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps into the grounds for their first flying lesson.**_

James looked excited and kept bouncing up and down, earning some strange gazes.

_**It was a clear, breezy day**_

"Perfect Quidditch conditions!" said James happily.

_**and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns towards a smooth lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the Forbidden Forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.**_

_**The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms,**_

"That's because they're rubbish!" exclaimed Sirius and James.

_**saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.**_

_**Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, grey hair and yellow eyes like a hawk.**_

_**"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."**_

_**Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.**_

_**"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say, 'Up!'"**_

_**"UP!" everyone shouted.**_

"Harry's broom will go up to his hand at once!" exclaimed James excitedly. "Just you wait and see!"

_**Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once,**_

"YES!" shouted James, looking happy and excited. Lily smiled proudly.

"Like father, like son." Remus said smiling.

_**but it was one of the few that did. Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground and Neville's hadn't moved at all.**_

"Mine didn't move either," commented Peter. "But I was afraid of flying."

"That would probably explayn it." Lily said. "Please continue Peter."

_**Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid, thought Harry; there was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground**_

_"There was a quaver in my voice, too," said Peter. "At least, that's what Sirius said he heard."_

_**Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows, correcting their grips. Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.**_

"Ha ha!" laughed James. Sirius joined in.

"That will hurt his ego." Said both Lucius and Narcissa."

_**"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then come straight back down by leaning forwards slightly. On my whistle - three - two -"**_

_**But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madame Hooch's lips.**_

Peter winced and exclaimed, "I didn't even do that! I kicked off with everyone else."

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Frank said as he hugged Alice close.

_**"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle - twelve feet - twenty feet.**_

"Poor Neville," muttered Remus sympathetically. "He's clearly not much like you Frank."

"He will grow out of this flying clumsiness after third year." Alice said.

"_**Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and -**_

"MY BABY!" Alice yelled frightened, Molly had already her eyes cowered.

_**WHAM - a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay, face down, on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher and started to drift lazily towards the Forbidden Forest and out of sight.**_

_**Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his.**_

"Is he ok?"

_**"Broken wrist," Harry heard her mutter. "Come on, boy - it's all right, up you get."  
She turned to the rest of the class.**_

_**"None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch'. Come on, dear."**_

_**Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.**_

"Frank, please remind me that I get her a big boquet from her favorite flowers when we have our next Flying class." Alice said.

"You can bet ont hat." Frank said liking they Flying teacher even more then before.

"Uhm…Lucius, I think you should start writing on your list again…" Peter said carefully, the blong groaned.

_**No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter**_**.**

"How lovely…" said Narcissa.

_**"Did you see his face, the great lump?"  
The other Slytherins joined in.**_

_**"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.**_

"Hey, didn't her father leace school in our second year?" James asked.

"Yes, he was a nice guy."

_**"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought you'd like fat little cry babies, Parvati."**_

"She comes after her father." Narcissa said while throwing a nervous glance at the still gloomy Severus who was death silent since he ended the chapter and and at her boyfriend who was writing like mad on his list.

_**"Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."**_

"The Rememberall?" asked Peter, looking up from the book.

_**The Rememberall glittered in the sun as he held it up.  
"Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly.**_

"Whack him with a broom if he doesn't, Harry!" exclaimed James as he again remembered a nasty little fact."Erm…sorry you two…"

"Your son is allowed to do that Potter, it could be that it would help him acting normal." Lucius said.

"Erm…ok…Harry you have heard him."

_**Everyone stopped talking to watch.  
Malfoy smiled nastily.  
"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to collect - how about - up a tree?"**_

_**"Give it here!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt on to his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he could fly well - hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!"**_

"NO, HARRY!" yelled Lily. "You'll get in trouble and be expelled!"

"He's not going to get expelled," said James. "He'll just get a detention or two and maybe lose a few points." He said while trying to ignore the glares the girls were sending him.

_**Harry grabbed his broom.**_

_**"No!" shouted Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move - you'll get us all into trouble."**_

"That is no use dear, he is like his father." Lily said groaning.

_**Harry ignored her. Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared,**_

"See!" retorted James, looking triumphantly at Sirius. "Harry can fly! He inherited my talent!"

_**air rushed through his hair and his robes whipped out behind him - and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught -**_

James smiled smugly at Sirius, who glared at him.

_**this was easy, this was wonderful. He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron.**_

_**He turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in mid-air. Malfoy looked stunned.**_

"Ha, ha, ha-ha, ha!" laughed Sirius.

James looked gleeful. "My son is the best!"

_**"Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!"**_

"Yeah, Harry, you tell him!" said James.

_**Oh, yeah?" said Malfoy trying to sneer, but looking worried.**_

"You should look worried!" exclaimed Sirius. "Your cronies aren't up there to help you!"

_**Harry knew, somehow, what to do. He leant forward and grasped the broom tightly in both hands and shot towards Malfoy like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; Harry made a sharp about turn and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping.**_

_**"No Crabbe and Goyle to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called.**_

_**The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy.**__  
__**"Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back towards the ground.**_

_**Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leant forward and pointed his broom handle down - next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball - wind whistled in his ears, mingling with the screams of people watching - he stretched out his hand - a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently on to the grass with the Rememberall clutched safely in his fist.**_

"Definitely seeker material!" exclaimed James proudly.

_**"HARRY POTTER!"**_

"Oh no!" groaned Sirius. "It's probably McGonagall!" James nodded gloomy and Lily, Remus, Frank, Alice, Arthur, Molly, Narcissa, Lucius and Peter looked worried and concerned.

_**His heart sank faster than he'd just dived. Professor McGonagall was running towards them. He got to his feet trembling.**_

_**"Never - in all my time at Hogwarts -"  
Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flasher furiously,**_

"Not good." said James.

"We've never made her speechless before," commented Sirius.

_**"- how dare you - might have broken your neck -"**_

_**"It wasn't his fault, Professor -"**_

"Yeah! Stick up for Harry!' exclaimed James.

_**"Be quiet, Miss Patil -"**_

_**"But Malfoy -"**_

_**"That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."**_

Remus suddenly looked thoughtful. "McGonagall loves Quidditch and really wants Gryffindor to win. There's always the chance that she won't punish Harry, or at least punish him lightly, and have him be the reserve seeker for Gryffindor." The others perked up at this.

"Yes, Moony is right." Sirius said grinning.

_**He wanted to say something to defend himself, but there seemed to be something wrong with his voice. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at him; he had to jog to keep up. Now he'd done it. He hadn't even lasted two weeks. He'd be packing his bags in ten minutes. What would the Dursleys say when he turned up on the doorstep?**_

_**Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to him. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Harry trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking him to Dumbledore. He thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps he could be Hagrid's assistant. His stomach twisted as he imagined it, watching Ron and the others become wizards while he stumped the grounds, carrying Hagrid's bag.**_

"Don't worry, Harry," said James. "You won't be expelled."

_**Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.  
"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?"Harry caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle's triumphant faces as he left,**_

James and Sirius scowled.

_**walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode towards the castle. He was going to be expelled, he just knew it.**_

"Wood? Do you think he is related to our captain?" Frank asked.

"Might be his son." Remus said.

_**Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?**_

"Nope," said Remus. "Dumbledore got rid of corporal punishment when he became Headmaster."

_**But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwick's class looking confused.**_

_**"Follow me, you two," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harry. "In here."**_

_**Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom which was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.**_

"Peeves is so predictable," commented Remus.

_**"Out, Peeves!" she barked.**_

"Well, I wouldn't argue," said James_._

_**Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys.**_

_**"Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood - I've found you a Seeker."**_

They all blinked in shock and Remus exclaimed, "I was expecting that McGonagll might make Harry a reserve seeker, but not that he'd actually be a full teammate!" then he looked pale at James who was about to bust out from happiness.

"_YES MY SON IS IN THE TEAM!! YES!!" _

_**Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight.  
"Are you serious, Professor?"**_

"McGonagall is always serious!' said James, sounding slightly bitter.

_**"Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it.**_

"Wow!" said James, looking awestruck. "Harry's even better than me!"

_**Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?"**_

_**Harry nodded silently. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to his legs.**_

_**"He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood.**_

"Fifty-foot!" said James, looking deeply impressed.

"Wow…" come it from most of the others.

_**"Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it."**_

_**Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once.**_

_**"Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" he asked excitedly.**_

_**"Wood's the captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained.**_

_**"He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light - speedy - we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor - a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."**_

"Get the Nimbus," said James. "It sounds the best!" and he started drooling again.

**I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks..."**

"WHAT!" roared Sirius, looking disgusted as a fain whimper brought his and everyones gaze to said _'Professor'_. "Oops…erm…sorry Severus…" he said grinning awkwardly, buti t didn't work.

_**Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry.**_

_**"I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you."  
Then she suddenly smiled.**_

_**"Your father would have been proud," she said.**_

"I am." said James quietly, smiling sadly, Lily smiled sadly as well.

_**He was an excellent Quidditch player himself."**_

James wiped away a single tear and Lily patted his arm.

_**"You're joking."  
It was dinner time. Harry had just finished telling Ron what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak-and-kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it.**_

_**"Seeker?" he said. "But first-years never - you must be the youngest house player in about -"**_

_**"-a century," said Harry, shoveling pie in his mouth.**_

"Wow!" exclaimed James, even more impressed. "Harry is good!"

_**He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me."  
Ron was so amazed, so impressed; he just sat and gaped at Harry.  
"I start training next week," said Harry. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret."**_

_**Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry and hurried over.**_

_**"Well done," said George in a low voice.**_

"How did they find out?" asked Sirius.

"Either they're on the team as well or they're really good at finding out information," said James.

_**"Wood told us.**_

"So much for keeping it a secret!" said Sirius.

_**We're on the team too - Beaters."**_

"Ah," said Sirius.

"Why am I not surprised?" Remus said.

_**"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch Cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."**_

"He is good!" said James, proudly. Lily smiled and sat closer to him.

_**"Anyway, we've got to go; Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passage way out of the school."**_

_**"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week.**_

"Wow!" said Sirius. "They found it faster then we did."

_**See you."  
Fred and George hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up:**_

"Malfoy!" growled James. Lily patted his arm.

_**Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.  
"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"**_

_**"You're a lot braver now you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly.**_

_**There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl.**_

"That's never stopped James and Sirius," muttered Remus. James and Sirius glared at him.

_**"I'd take you on any time on my own," said Malfoy.**_

_"_Yeah, right," said Lucius, the others looking a bit confused. "Male Malfoy tend to be somewhat…well a whimp in some parts of they youth." He said.

_**"Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only - no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"**_

"Probably not," said Lily, glaring at the book.

_**"Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling round.**_

"Ron would help Harry, of course!" exclaimed Sirius, looking happy.

_**"I'm his second, who's yours?"**_

"You'd be my second, wouldn't you, Padfoot?" asked James.  
"You need to ask?" replied Sirius. James grinned at him.

_**Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up.  
"Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room, that's always unlocked."**_

_**When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other.  
"What is a wizard's duel?" said Harry. "And what do you mean, you're my second?"**_

"Harry won't like it…" Molly said.

_**"Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually, getting started at last on his cold pie. Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, "but people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."**_

"I'd bet it, too," said Sirius.

_**"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"**_

_**"Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Ron suggested.**_

"I like Ron," said Sirius.

"RONALD!" Molly said in a dissaproving maner.

_**"Excuse me."**_

_**They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger.**_

_**"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron.**_

_**Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry.  
"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying -"**_

_**"Bet you could," Ron muttered.**_

_**"- and you mustn't go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be.**_

_**It's really selfish of you."**_

"Shut up!" exclaimed James, losing patience.

_**"And it's really none of your business," said Harry.**_

_**"Goodbye," said Ron.**_

"Well said, guys!" exclaimed Sirius.

_**All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing).**_

_**Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as "If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them."**_

"Erm…that doesn't sound to promissing…" Remus said frowning.

"You tell us?" Sirius said.

_**There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and Harry felt he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today.**_

"Of course, your father doesn't think along those lines," said Lily, giving James an exasperated look.

_**On the other hand, Malfoy's sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness - this was his big chance to beat Malfoy, face to face. He couldn't miss it.**_

"Just like his father…" groaned Lily.

_**"Half past eleven," Ron muttered at last. "We'd better go."**_

_**They pulled on their dressing-gowns, picked up their wands and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them: "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry."**_

"Not Granger again!" said James. Sirius began muttering curses under his breath.

_**A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink dressing-gown and a frown.**_

_**"You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"**_

_**"I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped. "Percy - he's a Prefect, he'd put a stop to this."  
Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering.**_

"Remus never acts like this when he tries to talk us out of a prank!" exclaimed Sirius.

"That's because I'm your friend and because I know I won't succeed," pointed out Remus, smiling ruefully.

_**"Come on," he said to Ron.**_

_**He pushed the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole.**_

_**Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily.**_

_**She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose.**_

_**"Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the House Cup and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."**_

_**"Go away."**_

"Thank you!" exclaimed Sirius.

_**"All right, but I warned you, you must remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so -"  
But what they were, they didn't find out.**_

_**Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting.**_

They all laughed.

_**The Fat Lady had gone on a night-time visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower.**_

_**"Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly.**_

_**"That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we're going to be late."  
They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them.**_

_**"I'm coming with you," she said.**_

_**"You are not."**_

_**"D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you and you can back me up."**_

"Yeah, like Harry and Ron will back you up," muttered James.

_**"You've got some nerve -" said Ron loudly.**_

_**"Shut up, both of you!" said Harry sharply. "I heard something."**_

_**It was a sort of snuffling.**_

_**"Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark.  
It wasn't Mrs. Norris.**_

"PHEW!" they all exclaimed.

_**It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked awake as they crept nearer.**_

"Awww…he is so cute…" coed Alice.

_**"Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours. I couldn't remember the new password to get into bed."**_

_**"Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."**_

_**"How's your arm?" said Harry.**_

_**"Fine," said Neville, showing them. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."**_

"Well, she can fix anything," said Sirius.

_**"Good - well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later -"**_

_**"Don't leave me" said Neville, scrambling to his feet. "I don't want to stay here alone, The Bloody Baron's been past twice already."**_

"Oooh," shuddered Peter.

_**Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville.**_

_**"If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learnt that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about and used it on you."**_

_**Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies, but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward.**_

_**They flitted along the corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. At every turn Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed towards the trophy room.**_

_**Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet.**_

"They must have chickened out!' exclaimed James, looking happy.

"Ugh…I don't think…" Lucius said.

_**The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once. The minutes crept by.**_

Remus frowned. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this."

_**"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered.**_

"RUN! Get out of there!" yelled James.

_**Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak - and it wasn't Malfoy.**_

_**It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris.**_

_**Horror-struck, Harry waved madly at the other three to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently towards the door away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room.**_

_**"They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding."**_

_**"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."**_

"Filch," said James, looking angry..

_**"This way!" Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor.**_

"Oh no, armor!" moaned Remus.

James frowned, then looked concerned. "Neville is clumsy like Peter!" he gasped. "No offense, Peter, Frank, Alice."

_**They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run -he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor.  
The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.**_

Everyone winced and Remus muttered, "I knew it!"

_**RUN!" Harry yelled and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following -they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead without any idea where they were or where they were going.**_

"Not a very good escape plan," said Remus.

_**They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run -he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor.  
The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.**_

Everyone winced and Remus muttered, "I knew it!"

_**RUN!" Harry yelled and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following -they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead without any idea where they were or where they were going.**_

"Not a very good escape plan," said Remus.

_**They ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.**_

"Phew," said Lily, sighing in relief. The others sighed as well.

_**"I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead.**_

_**Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.**_

_**"I - told - you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest. "I - told - you."**_

_**"We've got to get back to Gryffindor Tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."**_

"What a genius!" said Remus sarcastically.

_**"Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry.**_

"We've already figured it out."

_**"You realize that, don't you?**_

_**He was never going to meet you - Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off."**_

_**Harry thought she was probably right, but he wasn't going to tell her that.**_

"Why can't men ever admit that they've been wrong?' demanded Lily. "It's so stupid!'

_**He was never going to meet you - Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off."**_

_**Harry thought she was probably right, but he wasn't going to tell her that.**_

"Why can't men ever admit that they've been wrong?' demanded Lily. "It's so stupid!'

"We agree." Said the other girls.

_**"Let's go."  
It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them. It was Peeves.**_

"Uh oh…."

_**He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.  
"Shut up, Peeves - please - you'll get us thrown out."**_

_**Peeves cackled.  
"Wandering around at midnight, ickle firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."**_

_**"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."**_

_**"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittering wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."**_

_**"Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves -**_

"You idiot!" exclaimed James. "That's not how you get Peeves to not tell on you!"

_**This was a big mistake.**_

"A huge one!" said Sirius.

_**"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"  
Ducking under Peeves they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor, where they slammed into a door - and it was locked.**_

_**"This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door. "We're done for! This is the end!"**_

"Not if you do the Alohomora spell," said Remus. The others looked hopeful.

_**They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could towards Peeves's shouts.  
"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled.**_

"She would be the one to know it," muttered Sirius.

_**She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock and whispered, "**__**Alohomora**__**!"**_

_**The lock clicked and the door swung open - they piled through it, shut it quickly and pressed their ears against it, listening.**_

_**"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying.**_

"Puh…saved int he last minute."

_**"Quick, tell me."**_

"Nope," said James. "Peeves won't tell you!"

_**"Say 'please'."**_

_**"Don't mess me about, Peeves, now where did they go?"**_

_**"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying sing-song voice.**_

_**"All right - please."**_

_**"NOTHING!" Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please!**_

They all burst out laughing.  
"It's wonderful when Peeves does that!" said Sirius between laughter.

_**Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.**_

_**"He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be OK - get off, Neville!" For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's dressing-gown for the last minute. "What?"**_

_**Harry turned around - and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare -this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far.**_

_**They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor.**_

"Harry's found the forbidden corridor!" cheered James.

"But Dumbledore wouldn't lock it in a way that could be opened by Aloho-" said Remus.

"Everyone thinks it's dangerous," interrupted Sirius. "Dumbledore did say it was out-of-bounds unless you wished to die a very painful death."

"Ugh…"

"I have a really bad feeling…"

_**The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden.**_

_**They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog which filled the whole space between the ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs**_

Everyone looked nervous and Peter had a quaver in his voice as he read.

_**It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.**_

"RUN, YOU IDIOTS!" shouted James.

"GET IMEDIATELY OUT OF THERE!!"

_**Harry groped for the doorknob - between Filch and death, he'd take Filch.**_

"I'd do the same," said James.

_**They fell backwards - Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared - all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster.**_

_**They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.**_

_**"Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their dressing-gowns hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty**__**faces.**_

_**"Never mind that - pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling into armchairs.**_

_**It was a while before any of them said anything.**_

_**Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again.**_

"Poor Neville," said Lily, looking concerned.

_**"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."**_

_**Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again.**_

"Here we go again," muttered Sirius, rolling his eyes.

_**"You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"**_

"Yeah, when we meet a three-headed dog that's about to eat us, we look at its feet," said James sarcastically.

_**"The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."**_

_**"No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something."**_

"The Philosopher's Stone!" they all said together.

_**She stood up, glaring at them.  
"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed - or worse, expelled.**_

"Dying is a hit worse than being expelled!' exclaimed Sirius

_**Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."**_

_**Ron stared after her, his mouth open.**_

_**"No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you?"**_

_**But Hermione had given Harry something else to think about as he climbed back into bed.**_

_**The dog was guarding something... What had Hagrid said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide - except perhaps Hogwarts.**_

_"Yes! Yes!" exclaimed James._

_**It looked as though Harry had found out where the grubby little package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was.**_

"So, this is the end of the chapter." Peter said.

"I'm reading next!" Alice said excited.

_To be continued… _


	11. And now a troll

A/N: ok guys I want to thank you all for the reviews and so here is a new chapter…

P.S.: sorry if it gets messed up, I try to fix it, but it still comes out horrible…

XI. And now a troll and _Halloween _

* * *

"Hey guys the next title is _**Halloween."**_ Alice said smiling and nearly everyone cheered.

"That will be probably a great chapter." Sirius said grinning.

"Why do I have a strange feeling that something will happen." Remus asked frowning.

"What do you mean Remus?" Peter asked frightened.

"I don't know Peter." He said and the others exchanged worried glances at each other.

_**Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful.**_

"Ha, ha!" laughed James and Sirius.

"Draco, I hope for you that you are not standing open mouthed in the middele of the Hall." Narcissa said in a scolding tone. "That is extremly rude."

_**Indeed, by next morning Harry and Ron thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure and they were quite keen to have another one.**_

"Spoken like the son of a Marauder!" declared James proudly. Lily sighed and shook her head. _'Great I will bear a second James Potter' _she thought.

"Alice please before I hex the father of my future son to the next cantuary." she growled and James backed away from her.

_**In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection.**_

_**"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron.  
"Or both," said Harry.**_

"Both correct son." said James.

_**But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.**_

_**Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again.**_

"I would too," said Peter.

_**Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron,**_

"Thank Merlin," muttered James and Sirius at the same time, recieving some glares from the girls.

_**but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus.**_

_**All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived with the post about a week later.**_

They all looked excited and waited eagerly for Alice to finally continue who was now grinning broadly.

"Ah James, dare to drool on me and you are death." She said grinning before continuing, said person was standing still.

_**As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by long thin package carried by six large screech owls. Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor.**_

_**They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.  
Harry ripped open the letter first,**_

"Who cares about the letter?" asked James, sitting down. "I want to see what he got." He whined like a three years old on Christmas.

_**which was lucky, because it said:**_

_**DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE.  
It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everyone knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch pitch at seven o'clock for your first training session.  
Professor M. McGonagall**_

"Wow," said James, looking impressed. "My son has the best broom! Thank you, McGonagall!" he said in delight.

"Wow, Minnie is really determinded to winn." Sirius said.

_**Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read.**_

_**"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even touched one."**_

_**They left the Hall quickly, wanting to un-wrap the broomstick in private before their first lesson, but halfway across the Entrance Hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle.**_

"Ha!" laughed Sirius. "Now they can get back at them!"

_**Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it.**_

"Get you dirty hands of the package!" snarled James, but flinched at both Lily's and Narcissa's glares. Why had girls named after flowers have the most frightening glares?

_**"That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first-years aren't allowed them."**_

"Actually, you're not allowed them," said James, looking gleeful.

_**Ron couldn't resist it.**_

"Who could?"

_**"It's not any old broomstick," he said, "It's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?"**_

James grinned. "And seeing as the Comet's the second-best broom now, it won't be so great in Harry's time!"

"I like my Comet." Lucius said in a defensive tone for his broom.

_**Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."**_

"Yeah, you tell him, Ron!" said Sirius.

_**"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped back.**_

_**Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow.**_

"Aww!" whined Sirius, earning a glare from Remus and Lucius was back on his list.

_**"Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked.  
"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly.**_

"Tattletale!" said Sirius.

"Sirius, he is still your cousin." Narcissa said. "_No one will make that out of my poor baby when I have a say in this."_

"Ugh…usually when she is grinning like that it meand always pain and death to everyone." Sirius whispered to the others while throwng gances at the still grinning blond.

_**"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick beaming at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?"**_

_**"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it," he added.**_

James and Sirius burst out laughing, while the others looked merely amused by the situation.

_**Harry and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion.**_

James was holding his side due to all his laughter.

_**"Well it's true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase. "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Rememberall I wouldn't be in the team ..."**_

_**"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" came an angry voice from just behind them.**_

_**Hermione was stomping up the stairs looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hands.**_

"Well. I suppose Hermione has a point," said Lily.

"I'm also agreeing." Molly said.

_**"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry.**_

"Good point!" said Sirius.

_**"Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it's doing us so much good."**_

_**Hermione marched away with her nose in the air.**_

_**Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day. It kept wandering up to the dormitory, where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch pitch where he'd be learning to play that night.**_

"Just like his father!' muttered Lily. "I like Quidditch, but I'm not obsessed with it!"

"Even I'm not obsessed with it and I'm the captain." Lucius said.

_**He bolted his dinner that evening without even noticing what he was eating and then rushed upstairs with Ron to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last.**_

"I'll never see his first Quidditch game," said James sadly. "I'll only be able to read about it." Lily wiped away a few tears.

_**"Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled on to Harry's bedspread.  
Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top.**_

"Wow," said the Marauders.

_**As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off towards the Quidditch pitch in the dusk. He'd never been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the pitch so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the pitch were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through, except that they were fifty feet high.**_

_**Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling -**_

"I know what you mean," commented James, smiling dreamily.

_**he swooped in and out of the goalposts and then sped up and down the pitch. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch.**_

"Wow..." said James. "I wish I had a broom like that."

_**"Hey, Potter, come down!"**_

_**Oliver Wood had arrived. He was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Harry landed next to him.  
"Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall meant ... you really are a natural.**_

James and Lily smiled proudly.

_**I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week."**_

"Three?" asked James. "We have to train for four and sometimes even five nights a week."

"Well he isn't as worse as his father." Remus said.

"That is true."

_**He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls.**_

_**"Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play**__. __**There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers."**_

_**"Three Chasers," Harry repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a football.**_

_**"This ball's called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try to get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?"**_

_**"The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," Harry recited. "So - that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?"**_

_**"What's basketball?" said Wood curiously.**_

_**"Never mind," said Harry quickly.**_

_**"Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper - I'm the Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring."**_

_**"Three Chasers, one Keeper," said Harry, who was determined to remember it all. "And they play with the Quaffle. OK, got that. So what are they for?" he pointed at the three balls left inside the box.**_

"They're the Bludgers and the Snitch," said James.

"We know James." They all said groaning.

"Yes and if we are already by the Bludgers, why are you always hitting them at me and Severus?" Lucius asked while glaring at Sirius who only grinned innocently at him.

_**"I'll show you now," said Wood. "Take this."  
He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a rounders bat.**_

The boys looked at Lily questioningly then Severus was still out, which started to really make everyone worry about him. " It's a Muggle sport."

_**"I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do," Wood said. "These two are Bludgers."**_

_**He showed Harry two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box.**_

_**"Stand back," Wood warned Harry. He bend down and freed one of the Bludgers.  
At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry's face.**_

Lily looked worried and opened her mouth to protest, but James put a comforting hand on her arm. "It'll be all right, Lily."

_**Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it breaking his nose and sent it zig-zagging away into the air - it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground.**_

_**"See?" Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely.**_

_**"The Bludgers rocket around trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team. The Weasley twins are ours- their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them towards the other team. So - think you've got all that?"**_

_**"Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goalposts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," Harry reeled off.**_

"Harry learns Quidditch quickly!" exclaimed James, looking proud.

_**"Very good," said Wood.  
"Er - have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?" Harry asked, hoping he sounded offhand.**_

"Not at Hogwarts," said James, soothingly.

_**"Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that. Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers -"**_

_**" - unless they crack my head open."**_

_**"Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers - I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves.**_

_**Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings.**_

_**"This," said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. That's why seekers get fouled so much.**_

"Well yeah," said James. "Most people would prefer to a ten-point penalty shot than a hundred fifty point catch of the snitch." He explayined.

"So there it is really something he is actually learning?" Lily asked shocked.

_**A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages - I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep.**_

"Really?" asked Peter, looking awestruck. "I never knew that."

Remus was frowning. "It sounds a bit ridiculous. How can the seekers be so atrocious that they can't catch a snitch in a few days at least? And think of the points! The chasers will have scored so many times that the two teams would automatically place first and second in the League!"

The others nodded in agreement, though James gave Remus a weird look. "You must have a lot of time on your hands if you can think of stuff like this."

"Well actually that isn't to hard to figure out." Narcissa said.

"I will not comment on this." Sirius said.

_**"Well, that's it - any questions?"  
Harry shook his head. He understood what he had to do all right, it was doing it that was going to be the problem.**_

_**"We won't practice with the Snitch yet,"**_

"Awww…" James whined.

_**said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate. "It's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you with a few of these."**_

_**He pulled out a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket, and a few minutes later, he and Harry were up in the air, Wood throwing the ball as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch.**_

_**Harry didn't miss a single one, and Wood was delighted.**_

"That's my boy!" said James proudly.

"Sport obsessive father…" Frank whispered to Arthur who nodded.

"What?"

"Nothing…"

_**After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on.**_

"Aww!" whined James.

"You sound so childish," muttered Remus under his breath.

_**"That Quidditch Cup'll have our name on it this year," said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle.**_

James was suddenly hit by six Silencing carms at the same time.

_**"I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons."**_

_**Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realized that he'd already been at Hogwarts two months.**_

_**The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive had ever done.**_

Lily smiled sadly.

_**His lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics.  
On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he though they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom.**_

_**Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan (which was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye). Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger.**_

"Oh dear," said Lily, looking concerned.

"This'll get interesting," said Sirius, rubbing his hands in excitement.

_**It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this. She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived.**_

_**"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual.**_

"Swish and flick," they all chanted, then burst out laughing.

_**"Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too - never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."**_

"I can't believe he still scares them with that story!' exclaimed James incredulously.

"And I can't believe children are still believing it."

_**It was very difficult.**_

"Looks like Harry hasn't my talent for Charms," said Lily, smiling_._

_**Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skywards just lay on the desktop.**_

_**Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it - Harry had to put it out with his hat.**_

They all burst out laughing again.

_**Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.  
"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.**_

_**"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."**_

_**"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.  
Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"  
Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.**_

"She is really good." Lily said.

_**"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"**_

_**Ron was in a very bad temper by the end of the class.**_

"I would be too," muttered Sirius.

_**"It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor. "She's a nightmare, honestly."**_

"RONALD!" both Arthur and Molly yelled while jumping up.

"Young man if I find out from where you got these manners I swear that they will be sorry." Molly threatened and the others hoped that it was not them.

_**Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face - and was startled to see that she was in tears.**_

_**"I think she heard you."**_

_**"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable.**_

"See? It was a bit harsh!" said Lily.

_**"She must've noticed she's got no friends."**_

"She doesn't have any friends?" exclaimed Remus.

"This is terrible." Alice said.

_**Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon.**_

_**On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' toilets and wanted to be left alone.**_

_**Ron looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of their minds.**_

_**A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles and pumpkins skitter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.**_

_**Harry was just helping himself to a jacket potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the Hall, his turban askew and terror on his face.**_

"What happened?' asked James.

"Did he see a ghost?" Sirius asked sarcastically.

"Uhm…Remus, you were right…" Alice said while swallowing hard, the others looked worried.

_**Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table and gasped. "Troll - in the dungeons - thought you ought to know."  
He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.**_

"What a wimp…erm did he just say a troll int he dungeons?" Sirius asked as everyone paled.

"NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!"

_**There was uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.**_

_**"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your houses back to the dormitories immediately!"**_

_**Percy was in his element.**_

_**"Follow me! Stick together, first-years! no need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first-years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a Prefect!"**_

_**"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.**_

_**"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."**_

"No, this is not funny." James said.

_**They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.**_

"Oh no!" gasped Lily, realizing. "Hermione doesn't know about the troll! Harry must have realized that too!"

_**"I've just thought - Hermione."**_

_**"What about her?"**_

_**"She doesn't know about the troll."**_

_**Ron bit his lip.  
"Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy'd better not see us."**_

_**Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor and hurried off towards the girls' toilets. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.**_

"Darn! They've been spotted!" cursed James.

_**"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin.  
Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.**_

They all tryed to ignore the whimper comming from they Snape in favour to stare confused at the book.

"Shouldn't be with the other teachers?" Frank asked confused.

_**"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"  
"Search me."**_

_**Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.  
"He's heading for the third floor," Harry said,**_

And there was a new whimper.

"Slowly I'm starting to get worryed about him." James said while they all looked at Severus.

"You tell me since the prewious chapter is he like this and the only ground we know he is still alive is is becouse he whimpers every time if he hears his name or the words _professor, Slytherin, House and Potions."_ Sirius said.

"Poor thing, it really must have upset him to find out what he will become." Molly said in a carring tone.

"I was hoping he would like to read the chapter about himself, but I was wrong." Lily said while looking guiltily at her friend.

"Lily, it was not your foult." Lucius said while looking worryed at Severus.

_**but Ron held up his hand.  
"Can you smell something?"**_

"It must be the troll," moaned Lily and Molly, looking nervous. Peter cowered in his seat.

_**Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.**_

Everyone looked really anxious.

_**And then they heard it - a low grunting and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet.**_

"RUN!" screamed Lily. "HARRY AND RON, LEAVE NOW!" She would have jumped up if James hadn't grabbed her as did Arthur with a frightened looking Molly.

_**Ron pointed: at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving towards them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight.**_

_**It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was dull, granite grey, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.**_

Peter shuddered and squeaked in fear again.

_**The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.**_

"I have again a bad feeling…." Remus said.

_**"The key's in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in."**_

_**"Good idea," said Ron nervously.**_

_**They edged towards the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door and lock it.  
"Yes!"**_

_**Flushed with their victory they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop -**_

Peter let out a terrified squeak and fell off the sofa, still clutching the cushion over his head. Remus helped him up and said, "It's all right, Peter. It's just a book."

_**A high, petrified scream - and it was coming from the chamber they'd just locked up.  
"Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.  
"It's the girls' toilets!" Harry gasped.  
"Hermione!" they said together.**_

_**It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have?**_

Everyone looked extremely anxious, while Peter looked positively terrified.

_**Wheeling around they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic -Harry pulled the door open - they ran inside.**_

_**Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she were about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went.**_

_**"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron, and seizing a tap he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.**_

"Good idea, Harry," said James, keeping one hand on Lily to restrain her.

_**The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.**_

"NO! NO!" screeched Lily, breaking free from James.

"GET OUT OF THERE ALL THREE!!"

_**"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it.**_

"RONALD!"

_**The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout towards Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it.**_

_**"Come on, run, run!" Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her towards the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.**_

"_Not good."_

_**The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started towards Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.**_

"No! Do something!" yelled Sirius.

_**Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid:**_

"Just like his father," muttered Lily angrily. James would have glared or said something, but he was too concerned about his son, the other groaned.

_**He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind. The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped - it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils.**_

"Very good, Harry!' exclaimed James. "Now run!"

_**Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off of catch him a terrible blow with the club.**_

Lily burst into hysterical sobs and wouldn't listen when James and Remus tried to comfort her.

_**Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright;**_

"She's the smartest one, but she's totally useless now!" spat Sirius bitterly.

"She can't help it!' retorted Lily between sobs.

_**Ron pulled out his own wand - not knowing what he was going to do, he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!"**_

"Great!" exclaimed James sarcastically. "A spell he can't do!" Lily moaned.

"Our babies…"

"Molly dear please calm down."

"Calm down…Arthur CALM DOWN WHEN A FULL GROWN MOUNTAIN TROLL IS THREATENING MY BABY!!" she roared and arthur let out a frightened yellp.

_**The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over - and dropped, with a sickening crack, on to its owner's head.**_

Lily dried her eyes, hiccupping, while the others looked relieved. Peter had removed the pillow.

_**The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.  
Harry got to his feet.**_

_**He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done.  
It was Hermione who spoke first.**_

"Now she's working again!" said Sirius sarcastically.

_**"Is it - dead?"**_

_**"I don't think so," said Harry. "I think it's just been knocked out."  
He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy grey glue.**_

"Urgh!" muttered Remus, making a face. "Troll bogies!" The others grimaced.

_"__**Urgh - troll bogies."**_

_**He wiped it on the troll's trousers.  
A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room,**_

"Oh no!" exclaimed James. "Why is it McGonagall the one who shows up?"

_**closely followed by Snape,**_

A new whimper.

_**with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.**_

"Oh great a Defense Against Dark Arts teacher is having a heart aíttack becouse of a knocked-out troll." James said sarcastically.

"Now you see why we would like to know how that guy become a Slytherin." Lucius said.

_**Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry. **_

"I think we did." Sirius said to James.

_**Her lips were white. **_

"Jes we saw that already." James said agreeing.

_**Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry's mind.  
"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice.**_

James and Sirius were shuddering.

_**Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"  
Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look.**_

"Don't look at Harry like that!' exclaimed James.

_**Harry looked at the floor. He wished Ron would put his wand down.  
Then a small voice came out of the shadows.  
"Please, Professor McGonagall - they were looking for me."**_

"Hermione's going to help them!" said James, looking happy.

_**"Miss Granger!"**_

_**Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.  
"I went looking for the troll because I - I thought I could deal with it on my own - you know, because I've read all about them."**_

_**Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher?**_

"Wow, I'm impressed!" said Sirius, grinning.

_**"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they had arrived."**_

_**Harry and Ron tried to look as if this story wasn't new to them.**_

_**"Well - in that case ..." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them. "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"**_

_**Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble.**_

"Well, you did save her life, Harry!" exclaimed Lily. "You were very brave, too, but don't do anything so idiotic again, but ont he other hand…you are unfortunately your father's child…!"

_**It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.**_

"If Snape gave me sweets, I'd have to test them to make sure they aren't poison," muttered Sirius as a little whimper, four hexes, a hissing cat and a long lecture from his great-grandfather reminded him that said person was also in the room.

_**Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you are not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor Tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."  
Hermione left.**_

_**Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron.**_

_**"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first-years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."**_

"Well, they didn't get a lecture," said James, surprised and happy.

"They should have gotten more than ten points," said Sirius.

"Five, you mean, once McGonagall's taken off Hermione's," said Remus.

_**They hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else.**_

_**"We should have got more than ten points," Ron grumbled.**_

_**"Five, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's."**_

_**"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we did save her."**_

"Exactly!" said Lily, very firmly.

_**"She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Harry reminded him.**_

"Even if you didn't lock it in, it would still have gone for her!' said James.

_**They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.  
"Pig snout," they said and entered.  
The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them.**_

_**There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks", and hurried off to get plates.**_

_**But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend.**_

"WHAT!" shouted Sirius.

"It makes sense," said Remus. "You and James weren't so keen on being my friend when we met on the Hogwarts Express because I was a bit of a bookworm. You only then become friends with me after I helped Sirius in potions."

"Oh right…"

**There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.**

"Very true," said James.

"So this is the end of the chapter who wants it next?" Alice asked.

"I will." James said as he took the book i his hands and started to bounc around excitedly.

"I have a strange feeling about this chapter." Frank said.

"YES HARRY'S FIRST QUIDDITCH MATCH!!" he yelled.

Everyone let out a groan.

_To be continued… _


	12. Of obsessions and

A/N: so guys I'm back with a new chapter plus one of my friends solved tree of the five names. So the solvings are the following: **L. D. M**. - _**Lucius Draco Malfoy, **_**R. N. M. **- _**Regulus Nigellus Malfoy**_ and the third she fully solved was **R. H. P. **- _**Rowena Helga Potter**_ the other two are still to be fully solved so I wish you luck with it…

XII. Of obsessions and _Quidditch _

* * *

"Yes, yes, yes my son is the best. Yes, yes, yes he is playing his first Quidditch match…" James sang while the others stared at him oddly.

"I think Potter has finally lost it." Narcissa said while fighting the urge to whack James on the head.

"Nah, that is normal by him when it comes to Quidditch, let me show you as to how to get him back to earth." Sirius said as he crawled over to his friend and whispered something in to his ear.

"…yes, yes, yes my son is the best…"

"What did you say Sirius?" Frank asked with a raised eyebrow.

"This case needs drastic measures." Sirius said frowning as he stormed over to a confused looking Lily Evans. "Hey Prongs look here." He said as he suddenly pulled her blouse up making her yelp in panic and James faint with a major nosebleed, the others were gapping shocked at him.

"_Sirius…."_ Hearing Lily's calm and threatening voice made Sirius realize just what he did, but it was already to late to search for cower.

James woke up after twenty minutes and stared confused at the bloody pulp on the ground A. K. A. his best friend, he finally started reading after getting some threatening looks from the girls which promised him the veary same fate as Sirius if he doesn't start reading.

_**As they entered**__**November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy grey and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows, defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch pitch, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit-fur gloves and enormous beaver skin boots.**_

"Such a beautiful place." Said James in a dreamy voice, the others groaned.

"Total Quidditch fanatic…" Arthur said.

"I can only hope and pray that Harry will not become like this.

_**The Quidditch season had begun.**_

"YAY!" cheered James, Sirius and Frank enthusiastically.

"Man and they sport." The girls said while shaking they heads in mock sorrow at they childish behavior.

_**On Saturday, Harry would be playing in his first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin.**_

"WOHO!"

"Potter calm down and read." Lucius hissed.

"Alright, I'm reading already…" James said annoyed.

_**If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the House Championship**_**.**

"Please tell me that it is not Slytherin on the first place." Sirius whined.

"And what would be wrong with that?" Narcissa asked in a threatening voice.

_**Hardly anyone had seen Harry play because Wood had decided that, as their secret weapon, Harry should be kept, well, secret.**_

"Yes my son is t…" but James noticed the deathglares thrown at him. "…erm…he…he…he I will now continue."

_**But the news that he was playing Seeker had leaked out somehow, and Harry didn't know which was worse - people telling him he'd be brilliant or people telling him they'd be running around underneath him, holding a mattress.**_

"Well at least he would have people who are there for him either way…" Remus said while raising an eyebrow and Peter nodded while grabbing one of the cushions and hugged it tightly.

"I hope he doesn't get hurt." Molly said in a worried tone while Lily dug her nails in to James's arm in her nervousnes.

_**It was really lucky that Harry now had Hermione as a friend. He didn't know how he'd have got through all his homework without her, what with all the last-minute Quidditch practice Wood was making them do.**_

_**She had also leant him Quidditch Through the Ages, which turned out to be a very interesting read. Harry learnt that there were seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and that all of them happened during a World Cup match in 1473; that Seekers were usually the smallest and fastest players and that most serious Quidditch accident seemed to happen to them;**_

At that both Lily and Molly paled.

_**that although people rarely died playing Quidditch, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert**__._

"Well uhm…" James was trying to get up with a reply for Lily who was glaring at him, but his mind was stuck screaming '_MY SON IS THE BEST QUIDDITCH PLAYER' _over and over so there was no chance for help there.

"Continue…" she growled.

"Yikes, erm…yes…"

_**Hermione had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Harry and Ron had saved her from the mountain troll and she was much nicer for it.**_

_**The day before Harry's first Quidditch match the three of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break,**_

"Children I hope that you are all well budled up, not that you catch a cold or worse…" Molly said worriedly that one of the children might get sick ont he cold air.

"We agree." Said Lily, Narcissa and Alice in union.

"Mother instintcs are kicking in fast." Frank commented.

"You tell me?" said Arthur who was still trying to figure out just how he managed seven kids mostly that from the seven he only had one daughter the others all sons.

_**and she had conjured them up a bright blue fire which could be carried around in a jam jar.**_

"Wow that is definiately not first years magic." Lily said gasping, even she couldn't make something like that in her first year.

"Really impressive." Lucius said. '_And forgetting the fact about her heritage she has good chances to become one of the strongest witches of centaury, even I need to admit this.' _

"That girl is even more cloverel then our Moony." Sirius commented stunned.

"Hey!" said werewolf exclaimed annoyed and turned away from his friend pouting.

"Awww…don't worry Moony you will be always my favorite gnius." Sirius said as he wrapped his arms around his friend, but he soon noticed that suddenly was everyone staring at him again. "Stop with hose looks…I'M NOT GAY!!"

"Suuure…." Said everyone.

"I mean it…" but then he noticed that he had still his arms around his now bet red friend and jumped away blushing.

"James continue." Alice said.

"Hey! Don't ignore me I'm NOT GAY!!" but he was ignored, Remus only sat there blushing.

_**They were standing with their backs to it, getting warm, when Snape crossed the yard.**_

An other whimper.

"Lucius, I think you should hold him now before he storms of to jump down the Astronomy tower." James warned and Lucius imediately grabbed his sulking friend and held him close.

"James what is wrong?" Lily asked as she threw a worried glance at Severus.

"He will definiately not like what comes now." He replied sighing. _'Sirius and I really must have __gown ower board in those four years mostly that Lucius is gone after next year and Lily can't be always there to protect him…ugh…Harry please forgive us…'_

_**Harry noticed at once that Snape was limping.**_

"What could have happened." Narcissa asked worried.

"Let's continue and we will find out hopefully." Remus commented after managing to get out of his stupor.

_**Harry, Ron and Hermione moved closer to block the fire from view, they were sure it wouldn't be allowed. **_

_**Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye.**_

_**He limped over.**_

More whimpers could be heard, but what woried everyone was that this time it was mixed with faint sobs.

"Erm…should I continue?" James asked as he watched the blackhead starting to cry silently. _'I have never seen him in such a horryble state.' _James thought feeling guilt raise in his stomach.

"Continue he will soon calm down." Lucius said as his hand made circles on the other's back to calm him, holding his friend close.

_**He hadn't seen the fire, but seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.**_

_**"What's that you've got there, Potter?"**_

_**It was Quidditch Through the Ages. Harry showed him.**_

_**"Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Snape. "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor."**_

"THERE IS NO SUCH RULE!" yelled Lily, but then she suddenly sat down looking guiltily at her friend who was now crying even harder in to Lucius's robes his hands gripping the fabrice as if his live would depend on it, it happened only a five times that the other showed himself so wurnelable in front of others. "James please continue.

_**"He's just made that rule up," Harry muttered angrily as Snape limped away. "Wonder what's wrong with his leg?"  
"Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," said Ron bitterly.**_

"Ronald, that is not polite." Molly said in a disapproving tone. "Severus please calm down, it ia alight." She said in a warm tone, but it didn't help to much.

_**The Gryffindor common room was very noisy that evening. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat together next to a window. Hermione was checking Harry and Ron's Charms homework for them. She would never let them copy (How will you learn?), but by asking her to read it through, they got the right answers anyway.**_

_**Harry felt restless. He wanted Quidditch Through the Ages back, to take his mind off his nerves about tomorrow.**_

_**Why should he be afraid of Snape?**_

"Well, uhm…he can get dangerous if really angry." Peter commented while holding stronget to the cusshion. "And scarry…" he whispered to himself.

_**Getting up, he told Ron and Hermione he was going to ask Snape if he could have it.**_

_**"Rather you than me," they said together, but Harry had an idea that Snape wouldn't refuse if there were other teachers listening.**_

_**He made his way down to the staff room and knocked. There was no answer. He knocked again. Nothing.**_

"Looks like no one other is there." Arthur said while still listening to Severus's crying, personally he could understand that he was in such a state.

_**Perhaps Snape had left the book in there?**_

_**It was worth a try.**_

"Severus is not that type." Lucius, Narcissa and Lily commented in union.

"Only if it is a trap." Sirius said.

"True." James commented.

_**He pushed the door ajar and peered inside - and a horrible scene met his eyes.  
**_

Everyones eyed widened and looked worryed at the book while Lucius pulled severus closer who started whimpering again while crying.

"Ugh…ewww…now I know why he believed you two Lily…." James said looking slightly green.

_**Snape and Filch were inside, alone.**_

"Ewww…" come it from Frank, Alice, Arthur, Molly and Remus, Peter and Narcissa whimpered.

"Ugh…" Lily said.

"GAH!! THE HORRYBLE MENTAL IMAGES!! I WILL NEVER GET THESE DISGOUSTING IMAGES OUT OF MY HEAD!!" Sirius screamed while rubbing his eyes.

"THAT SLYMY PEDOFILE GIT WILL ONLY TOUCH SEVERUS OVER MY DEATH BODY!" Lucius roared as he hugged the blackhead protectively closer, glaring daggers at the book.

"And I'm the victim of the gay jokes…" Sirius commented.

_**Snape was holding his robes above his knees.**_

Nearly everyone looked at the werge of throwing up while Snape's crye and whimpers got louder.

"That is it…I'M KILLING THAT PERVERT!"

"He is taking this protecting thing to seriously." Frank whispered to the others.

"Phew…Lucius you can calm down, but this is strange." At that the blond stopped ranting and threatening painful death to Flinch and looked at James.

_**One of his legs was bloody and mangled. Filch was handing Snape bandages.**_

Everyone let out a relieved sigh and Lucius looked down smiling at his sobbing friend.

"Ssss…it ia alright Sev, he is not touching you." He said and the others looked strangely at him.

"Erm…Cissa are you sometimes not worried that Lucius might be also interested in other people?" Sirius whispered to his cousin.

"No." Was her only reply.

_**"Blasted thing," Snape was saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"**_

"Why were you trying to get past that Cerberus?" Remus asked the whimpering blackhead.

"I…I…domn't...n…now…" he brought out between sobs.

"Let's continue reading."

_**Harry tried to shut the door quietly, but -  
"POTTER!"**_

Everyone flinched and Snape started whimpering again.

"Harry is doomed."

"Sirius!"

"Erm…sorry…"

_**Snape's face was twisted with fury as he dropped his robes quickly to hide his leg. Harry gulped.**_

"Ugh…the last time I saw that face was I int he Hospital Wing for two weeks." Sirius said flinching.

"Severus wouldn't harm a student." Lily threw in.

_**"I just wondered if I could have my book back."**_

"Bad move Harry…" James said.

_**"GET OUT! OUT!"**_

"Well atleast he has a chance to flee."

_**Harry left, before Snape could take anymore points from Gryffindor. He sprinted back upstairs.  
"Did you get it?" Ron asked as Harry joined them. "What's the matter?"**_

_**In a low whisper, Harry told them what he'd seen.  
"You know what this means?" he finished breathlessly. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him - he's after whatever it's guarding!**_

"NO!" Severus screamed and started crying again, he was to frustrated and so every little bit of saddness, anger, agony and pein broke through his cold mask.

_**And I'd bet my broomstick he let that troll in, to create a diversion!"  
Hermione's eyes were wide.  
"No - he wouldn't," she said. "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe."**_

"Don't worry Severus see Hermione also thinks that it wasn't you." Remus said.

_**"Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something," snapped Ron.**_

They all chuckled at this.

_**"I'm with Harry. I wouldn't put anything past Snape.**_

Severus let out more whimpers, he really wanted this to end.

_**But what's he after? What's the dog guarding?"**_

_**Harry went to bed with his head buzzing with the same question. Neville was snoring loudly, but Harry couldn't sleep. He tried to empty his mind - he needed to sleep, he had to, he had his first Quidditch match in a few hours - but the expression on Snape's face when Harry had seen his leg wasn't easy to forget.**_

_**The next morning dawned very bright and cold.**_

"Excelent weather for a Quidditch match." James said ina n approving tone.

_**The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.**_

"Who wouldn't be." James said.

_**"You've got to eat some breakfast."**_

_**"I don't want anything."**_

_**"Just a bit of toast," wheedled Hermione.**_

_**"I'm not hungry."**_

"Hapans to James also before a match." Remus commented.

_**Harry felt terrible. In a few hours' time he'd be walking on to the Quidditch pitch.  
"Harry, you need your strength," said Seamus Finnigan. "Seekers are always the ones who get nobbled by the other team."**_

_**"Thanks, Seamus," said Harry, watching Seamus pile ketchup on his sausages.**_

_**By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.**_

"Ok, enough from the descriptions lets get to the match." James said impatiently.

"Potter calm down."

_**Ron and Hermione joined Neville, Seamus and Dean the West Ham fan up in the top row. As a surprise for Harry, they had painted a large banner on one of the sheets Scabbers had ruined.**_

At this threw James, Remus and Sirius a strange glance at Peter who was glaring at them.

_**It said Potter for President and Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath. Then Hermione had performed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different colors.**_

"Awww!" cooed Lily.

"So sweet." Molly said.

_**Meanwhile, in the changing rooms, Harry and the rest of the team were changing into their scarlet Quidditch robes (Slytherin would be playing in green).**_

_**Wood cleared his throat for silence.**_

_**"OK, men," he said.  
"And women," said Chaser Angelina Johnson.  
"And women," Wood agreed. "This is it."  
"The big one," said Fred Weasley.  
"The one we've all been waiting for," said George.  
"we know Oliver's speech by heart," Fred told Harry. "We were in the team last year."**_

"The same spech like by his father…"

_**"Shut up, you two," said Wood. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it."**_

_**He glared at them as if to say, "Or else."**_

_**"Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."**_

Everyone looked excited.

_**Harry followed Fred and George out of the changing room and, hoping his knees weren't going to give way, walked on to the pitch to loud cheers.**_

"Yes finally." James said excited.

_**Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the pitch, waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.  
"Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said, once they were all gathered around her. Harry noticed that she seemed to be speaking particularly to the Slytherin captain, Marcus Flint, a fifth-year. Harry thought Flint looked as if he had some troll blood in him.**_

"Could be." Lucius said suddenly.

"What?"

"Well the Flint family likes to experiment to make they ofsprings stronger and so well…I don't think you want me to go int o detailes." At that everyone shook they heads furiously, they really didn't need to know.

_**Out of the corner of his eye he saw the fluttering banner high above, flashing Potter for President over the crowd. His heart skipped. He felt braver.**_

_**"Mount your brooms, please."  
Harry clambered on to his Nimbus Two Thousand**_**.**

"I LOVE THAT BROOM!" James yelled happily.

_**Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle. Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off.  
"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor -**_

"YES!" cheered most of the boys.

_**what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too -  
" JORDAN!"  
"Sorry, Professor."**_

At that everyone broke out laughing.

"Old Mini doesn't like such comments on a match." Sirius said. "GAH! THAT DAMNED CAT JUST SCRATHED ME!" Sirius whined as the cat let out a his and jumped ont he commode beside Phineas's portrait.

"You know that that cat is acting even stranger then Mrs. Norris?" Frank whispered to James.

"I know."

_**The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall.**_

"Knew it!" said Sirius.

_**"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve - back to Johnson and - no, Slytherin have taken the Quaffle,**_

"NO!"

"Boys stop it and James start reading."

_**Slytherin captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes - Flint flying like an eagle up there - he's going to sc - no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and Gryffindor take the Quaffle -**_

"YAY!" yelled James and Sirius.

_**that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and - OUCH -**_

"Bludger?" Alice asked worried, they could hurt like Hell.

_**that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger -**_

_**Quaffle taken by Slytherin- **_

_**that's Adrian Pucey speeding off towards the goalposts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger -**_

"Yes, the twins made a good job."

_**sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which - nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes - she'd really flying -**_

_**dodges a speeding Bludger - the goalposts are ahead - come on, now, Angelina - Keeper Bletchley dives - misses - GRYFFINDOR SCORE!"**_

"Hooray!" cheered James and Sirius.

_**Gryffindor cheers filled the cold air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins.**_

"Ha ha!" said James, mockingly.

_**"Budge up there, move along."  
"Hagrid!"**_

_**Ron and Hermione squeezed together to give Hagrid space to join them.  
"Bin' watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid, patting a large pair of binoculars round his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sigh of the Snitch yet, eh?"**_

_**"Nope," said Ron. "Harry hasn't had much to do yet."**_

_**"Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'," said Hagrid, raising his binoculars and peering skywards at the speck that was Harry.**_

_**Way up above them, Harry was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Snitch. This was part of his and Wood's game plan.**_

_**"Keep out of the way until you catch sight of the Snitch," Wood had said. "We don't want you attacked before you have to be."**_

"Need they to remind me." Lily groaned.

"Don't worry Lily he will be fine."

"I hope you are right Alice."

_**When Angelina had scored, Harry had done a couple of loop-the-loops to let out his feelings. Now he was back to staring around for the Snitch.**_

_**Once he caught sight of a flash of gold but it was just a reflection from one of the Weasley's wrist watches, and once a Bludger decided to come pelting his way, more like a cannon ball than anything, but Harry dodged it and Fred Weasley came chasing after it.  
"All right there, Harry?" he had time to yell, as he beat the Bludger furiously towards Marcus Flint.**_

_**"Slytherin in possession,"**_

"BOOOO!"

_**Lee Jordan was saying. "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys and Chaser Bell and speeds towards the - wait a moment - was that the Snitch?"**_

"GO HARRY!" yelled James, springing up.

_**A murmur ran through the crowd as Adrian Pucey dropped the Quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear.**_

"Where's Harry?"

_**Harry saw it. In a great rush of excitement he dived downwards after the streak of gold. Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs had seen it, too. Neck and neck they hurtled towards the Snitch - all the Chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in mid-air to watch.**_

"Stop staring, score for Merlin's shake!" James yelled.

"As said before I'm team captain and I'M still not THAT obsessed with the game." Lucius said.

_**Harry was faster than Higgs -**_

"Good! Go, Harry!" said James.

_**he could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead - he put on an extra spurt of speed -**_

_**WHAM!**_

"THEY BLOCKED HIM!" yelled James. "THOSE CHEATING SLYTHERIN SCUM!"

"HEY!"

"Sorry…"

_**A roar of rage from the Gryffindors below - Marcus Flint had blocked Harry on purpose and Harry's broom span off course, Harry holding on for dear life.**_

_**"Foul!" screamed the Gryffindors.**_

_**Madam Hooch spoke angrily to Flint and then ordered a free shot at the goalposts for Gryffindor.**_

"So she should!" said James, still frowning over what Slytherin did.

_**But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch had disappeared from sight again.  
Down in the stands, Dean Thomas was yelling, "Send him off, ref! Red card!"**_

"It's a card the referee has in football. If a player fouls badly, the referee can send him or her off by holding up the card." Sirius explayined.

"We really need one of those." James said.

"I agree, I don't believe that under normal circumates a bulgler always goes only against two players of the same team." Lucius said glaring at Sirius who was looking interested at the ceiling.

_**"This isn't football, Dean," Ron reminded him. "You can't send people off in Quidditch -**_

"They should start doing it!' said Lily angrily.

_**and what's a red card?"**_

_**But Hagrid was on Dean's side.  
"They ought to change the rules, Flint coulda knocked Harry outta the air."**_

"Even Hagrid agrees with me!'" said Lily.

_**Lee Jordan was finding it hard not to take sides.**_

"How? Just by simply stating the truth?" asked Sirius.

_**"So - after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating -"**_

_**" Jordan!" growled Professor McGonagall.**_

_**"I mean, after that open and revolting foul -"**_

"To bad that McGonagall is sitting right beside him." James said.

_**" Jordan, I'm warning you -"**_

_**"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."**_

"We're in the lead!' yelled James, looking very excited.

_**It was as Harry dodged another Bludger which went spinning dangerously past his head that it happened.**_

"What happened?" asked James, looking worried.

"If you'd continue reading, we could find out," said Lily, a trifle acidly.

"Ok."

_**His broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch. For a split second, he though he was going to fall.**_

Everyone stared frozen at the book.

_**He gripped the broom tightly with both his hands and knees. He'd never felt anything like that.  
It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck him off.**_

Remus frowned, "Could someone be jinxing it? That's the only reason I can think of as to why the broom is acting like that."

Lily looked really anxious and James started shaking.

_**But Nimbus Two Thousands did not suddenly decide to buck their riders off. Harry tried to turn back towards the Gryffindor goalposts; he had half a mind to ask Wood to call time out - and then he realized that the broom was completely out of his control.**_

"MY BABY!"

"Harry…"

_**He couldn't turn it. He couldn't direct it at all. It was zig-zagging through the air and every now and then making violent swishing movements which almost unseated him.**_

Both Lily and James were near the point to faint.

_**Lee was still commentating.  
"Slytherin in possession -**_

_**Flint with the Quaffle - passes Spinnet - passes Bell - hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose -**_

There were a few weak chuckles.

_**only joking, Professor -**_

"That's a big lie," said James.

_**Slytherin score - oh no..."**_

"What happened?" Lily asked in a trembling voice, she was shaking in fear.

_**The Slytherins were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom was behaving strangely. It was carrying him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.**_

"He'll fall off!" yelled Lily, jumping up. "Someone has to help him!"

_**"Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," Hagrid mumbled.**_

"It's not Harry!" cried James. "It's the broom! It's out of control!"

_**He stared through his binoculars. "If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom ... but he can't have ..."**_

"Finally someone notices!"

_**Suddenly, people were pointing up at Harry all over the stands. His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on.**_

Lily gasped and looked as if she were ready to faint. Remus reached into his pocket, pulled out a chocolate frog, and made Lily eat it imediately.

"That will help you." He said as he gave an other one to James.

"Thanks Remus, I feel better now." Lily said.

"Your welcome."

_**Then the whole crowd gasped. Harry's broom had given a wild jerk and Harry swung off it. He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.**_

Someone has to help him!" shouted Lily shrilly. While the chocolate had kept her from fainting, it hadn't calmed her nerves any.

_**"Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered.**_

_**"Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark Magic - no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."**_

"Then who would?" asked Peter in a trembling and squeaky voice.

_**At these words, Hermione seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she started looking frantically at the crowd.**_

_**"What are you doing?" moaned Ron, grey-faced.  
"I knew it," Hermione gasped. "Snape - look."**_

"I…I would…ne…never…" Severus trembled at his tears broke out again.

"We don't know if it is really you." Remus said.

"Severus is a teacher they don't go around killing students even if they father was a git to them." Lily hissed threateningly at a pale James.

_**Ron grabbed the binoculars. Snape was in the middle of the stands opposite them. He had his eyes fixed on Harry and was muttering non-stop under his breath.**_

"Snivellus is jinxing the broom!" cried Sirius, but then he realized his mistake as his skin and hair color become suddenly pink, his clothings light orange and he was stuck to the ceiling. Looking down he saw a furiously glarring Lucius look up at him, one arm still holding Severus close to him the other firmly gripping his wand.

"You will get down by the ent of the next chapter." He growled.

_**"He's doing something - jinxing the broom," said Hermione.  
"What should we do?"**__  
__**"Leave it to me."**_

Remus frowned. "I know that Severus hates James, but he would never hurt Harry that way, he is also Lily's son, by Sirius's son wouldn't I be to stunned…"

"Hey!" come it from the ceiling.

"Well one of your '_pranks'_ nearly killed him." Remus pointed out.

_**Before Ron could say another word, Hermione had disappeared. Ron turned his binoculars back on Harry. His broom was vibrating so hard, it was almost impossible for him to hang on much longer. The whole crowd were on their feet, watching, terrified, as the Weasleys flew up to try and pull Harry safely on to on of their brooms, but it was no good - every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still. They dropped lower and circled beneath him, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell.**_

"Good..." muttered James.

"Atleast they try to help him." Arthur said and Molly allowed a little smile that her two troublemakers were trying to help they friend.

_**Marcus Flint seized the Quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing.**_

"That git! Even Lucius over here would have stopped the match!" snapped James while pointing at the blond.

_**"Come on, Hermione," Ron muttered desperately.**_

_**Hermione fought her way across to the stand where Snape stood and was now racing along the row behind him; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front.**_

Remus frowned. "Why would the author bother mentioning that Hermione knocked into Quirrell?"

"I find that also strange." Agreed Lucius.

_**Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand and whispered a few, well chosen words. Bright blue flames shot from her wand on to the hem of Snape's robes.**_

"WHAT!" Lucius and Narcissa roared in anger while Severus whimpered.

"Now we really shouldn't go back to the witch burnings." Remus said.

"We agree."

"But it is still funny." At that recieved a pair of bunny ears and purpl fluffy tail from Narcissa.

"Now that is funny." She said.

_**It took perhaps thirty seconds for Snape to realize that he was on fire. **_

"WHAT! YOU ARE THE SLYTHERIN SEKER, HOW COULD IT TAKE SO LONG TO REACT TO THAT!" James screamed in shock, but backed down by the glares he got.

"Maybie he got a good reason." Narcissa said.

_**A sudden yelp told her she had done her job. Scooping the fire off him into a little jar in her pocket she scrambled back along the row - Snape would never know what had happened.**_

At that everyone made a side glance at Snape. '_Now he knows.'_ They all thought.

_**It was enough. Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom.**_

Everyone looked relieved, Lily and James most of all.

_**"Neville, you can look!" Ron said. Neville had been sobbing into Hagrid's jacket for the last five minutes.**_

"Awww," the girls cooed.

_**Harry was speeding towards the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick -**_

Lily looked anxious again.

_**he hit the pitch on all fours - coughed - and something gold fell into his hand.**_

James' mouth dropped open in shock.

"You don't mean…" Lucius said in a shocked voice.

"Ugh…now that is definiately a new method." Sirius commented from above.

_**"I've got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.**_

"Wow, my son manages to stay on his broom while it's out of control, then manages to catch the snitch!' said James, looking very impressed. "Ok, scratch the fact that he nearly swallowed it." He said.

_**"He didn't catch it, he nearly swallowed it," Flint was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference - Harry hadn't broken any rules**_

"Is there even a rule about this?" Remus asked frowning as he looked at they living Quidditch enciklobedy.

"I think no." He said shrugging.

_**and Lee Jordan was still happily shouting the result - Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty.**_

_**Harry heard none of this, though.**_

"Why? Is Harry not okay?" asked James a bit anxiously.

_**He was being made a strong cup of tea back in Hagrid's hut, with Ron and Hermione.**_

"Hagrid will make sure he's all right," said James, looking relieved.

"Yes thankfuly."

_**"It was Snape," Ron was explaining. "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you."**_

"Never!" Lucius, Narcissa and Lily growled in union.

_**"Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"**_

"Maybe because he's an evil git who hates James and takes it out on his son?" asked Sirius sarcastically as he suddenly noted tht something felt strange on his robes, looking down his eyes widened in terror. "GGGAAAAHHHH!!"

"You deserved that one, enough is enough Sirius." Remus said sighing while the others broke out laughing after seing that Sirius was now in a pink ballet dress with little stars on it.

_**Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other, wondering what to tell him. Harry decided on the truth.  
"I found out something about him," he told Hagrid. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."**_

_**Hagrid dropped the teapot.**_

_**"How do you know about Fluffy?" he said.**_

"Excuse me?" said Lily while the others stopped laughing and James nearly dropped the book.

"That guy seriously needs help by naming his pets." Narcissa said.

"His coward dog has the name Fang and that Cerberus is named _Fluffy…?_" James asked shocked.

_**"Fluffy?"**_

_**"Yeah - he's mine - bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year - I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the -"**_

"Yes, go on and tell them that it's a Philosopher's Stone!" urged James.

_**"Yes?" said Harry eagerly.**_

_**"Now, don't ask me any more," said Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."**_

_**"But Snape's trying to steal it."**_

"Exactly!" said Sirius, but he held his mouth when he saw the glares directed at him.

_**"Rubbish," said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."**_

_**"So why did he just try and kill Harry?" cried Hermione.**_

"NO HE DIDN'T!"

_**The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her mind about Snape.  
"I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"**_

_**"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student!**_

"Really?" asked Sirius.

"Sirius I warn you…"

_**Now, listen to me, all three of yeh - yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog,**_

"Yeah, like they're going to forget humongous dog with three heads very quickly," muttered James sarcastically.

_**an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel -"**_

"I don't think you were supposed to mention that name!" said James, smiling.

"He always lets things drop." Alice said.

_**Aha!" said Harry. "So there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"  
Hagrid looked furious with himself.**_

"Now why would he?" James asked sarcastically. "Ah right this is the end of the chapter, who goes next?" he asked.

"I will." Molly said as she put the book in her lap.

_To be continued… _

* * *

A/N: so this was the next chapter, well who can find out the last two names…


	13. What we would see

A/N: so this is the new chapter…

XIII. What we would see; _The Mirror of Erised_

* * *

"So Molly what is the next chapter title?" Frank asked curiously.

"Hmm…the title is strange, Lily, Remus, Severus can one of you three help me what it could mean?" she asked.

"What is it?" Remus asked.

"Well the title is, _**The Mirror of Erised**_" she read aloud.

"Hmm…a strange name for a mirror." Lily said while trying to figure out the meaning of the title.

"Desire…" come the faint voice of Severus who was now sitting beside Lucius.

"Hmm…?"

"Ah I know what you mean, read the word '_Erised'_ backwards and you will find out the actual word." Lucius said and everyone started to turn the word around in they mind.

"You are right Erised is Desire backwards!" Alice said stunned.

"Molly please start reading." Lily said.

_**Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasleys were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban.  
**__  
_Everyone bust out laughing while Molly was frowning at the new mischief her sons made.

_**The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver post had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again. **_

_**No one could wait for the holidays to start. While the Gryffindor common room and the great Hall had roaring fires, the draughty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the windows in the classrooms. Worsr of all were Professor Snape's classes**_

Molly waited till Severus's whimpers died down before she continued.

_**down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.  
**_

"Hope no one gets a cold down there." Molly said.

"Don't worry, as you know already our dorms are down there and we are all fine." Lucius said.

"By the way I have always wondered just where is your common room?" James asked the blond.

"Behind a secret wall under the lake." He said and the Gryffindors gasped.

"WHAT!"

"How do you know that you are under the lake?" Alice asked.

"Well our dorms have also windows with magical glass that won't break and our common room has also windows and we can see the things under the lake."

"Wow…" come it from Sirius who was still stuck to the ceiling.

_**"I do feel sorry," said Draco Malfoy, one Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."**_

James glared at the book.

"Great…and there I was hoping that I don't need to use my list." Lucius groaned as he started writing on his list again.

_**He was looking over at Harry as he spoke. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled. Harry, who was measuring out powdered spine of lionfish, ignored them.  
**_

_**Malfoy had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match. Disgusted that Slytherin had lost, he tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing Harry as Seeker next.  
**_

_**Then he'd realized that nobody found this funny, because they were all so impressed at the way Harry had managed to stay on his bucking broomstick.**_"Ha ha!" laughed Sirius, a nasty smile on his face.

"Draco darling, please stop embrassing yourself…" Narcissa said while Lucius started writing again.

_**So Malfoy, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry about having no proper family.  
**_

"Hey!"

"If this continues I will join Severus by the jumping." Lucius groaned while scribbling at his list.

"Everyone will stay here."

_**It was true that Harry wasn't going back to Privet drive for Christmas.  
**__  
_"Who cares?" said James. "He'll have a great Christmas at Hogwarts!'

_**Professor McGonagall had come round the week before, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays, and Harry had signed up at once. **_

_**He didn't feel sorry for himself at all; this would probably be the best Christmas he'd ever had. Ron and his brothers were staying too, because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to Romania to visit Charlie. **_

"Told you this would be Harry's first and best Christmas." James said.

"Yes we know James."

"Molly please continue." Arthur said.

_**When they left the dungeons at the end of Potions, they found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead.  
**_

"Great they have started the decorating already." Lily said smiling; she always loved the decorations in the Great Hall.

_**Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it.  
"Hi, Hagrid, want any help?" Ron asked, sticking his head through the branches.**_"Oh, yeah, he'll be lots of help." said Sirius sarcastically.

"Hey stop with reading bad about my son." Arthur growled and Molly glared at Sirius who yelped in fear.

_**"Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Ron." **_

_**"Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Malfoy's cold drawl from behind them. "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose - that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."  
**_

"HEY!" Lucius only groaned and continued with his list.

_**Ron dived at Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs.  
**__  
_"Oh, great!" moaned Siirus.

Severus only whimpered and everyone could hear that he was about to start crying again while Lucius shook his head.

_**"WEASLEY!" **_

_**Ron let go of Malfoy's robes. **_

_**"He was provoked, Professor Snape," said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the tree. "Malfoy was insultin' his family." **_

_**"Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid," said Snape silkily. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you."  
**_

_**Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking. **_

_**"I'll get him," said Ron, grinding his teeth at Malfoy's back, "one of these days, I'll get him -" **_

_**"I hate them both," said Harry, "Malfoy and Snape."**_

This time Severus really started crying again so that Lucius needed to calm him again, but even he looked paler then usuall.

"Harry that is not a nice thing to say." Lily and Molly said in union.

_**"Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas," said Hagrid. "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat." **_

_**So Harry, Ron and Hermione followed Hagrid and his tree off to the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.**_

"I love that." James said grinning, but then he suddenly noticed four pair of eyes glaring at him. "What?"

"You…you me… mean that last ye…year when you tur…turned my ro…robes green a…and red a…and I…I got de…decorated fu…full with Chris…Christmas o…ournament…" Severus hiccupped, teas still streaming down his shallow checks.

"Erm…he, he, he…sorry…" James said while grinning awkwardly, Sirius also wanted to comment, but considering how he already looked and the fact that he wanted down stopped him.

_**"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree - put it in the far corner, would you?" **_

_**The Hall looked spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls and no fewer than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.  
**__  
_"I love the Great Hall at Christmastime," said Lily dreamily. "It always looks so lovely."

"I agree with you." Narcissa said who usually spent her Christmas holidays in Hogwarts.

_**"How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked. **_

_**"Just one," said Hermione. "And that reminds me - Harry, Ron, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."**_

"WHAT!" screamed both James and Sirius in horror.

"Shut up you two."

_**"Oh yeah, you're right," said Ron, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming from out of his wand and trailing them over the branches of the new tree. **_

_**"The library?" said Hagrid following them out of the Hall. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?" **_

_**"Oh, we're not working," Harry told him brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is." **_

_**"You what?" Hagrid looked shocked. "Listen here - I've told yeh - drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'." **_

"Thank Merlin, I was starting to get worryed." James said in a relieved tone, Sirius only nodded while holding his heart.

_**"We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all," said Hermione. **_

_**"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Harry added. "We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere - just give us a hint - I know I've read his name somewhere." **_

_**"I'm sayin' nothin'," said Hagrid flatly.**_

"That will come." Said Lily in a knowing voice.

_**"Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Ron, and they left Hagrid looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library.  
They had indeed been searching books for Flamel's name ever since Hagrid had let it slip, because how else were they going to find out what Snape was trying to steal? The trouble was, it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Flamel might have done to get himself into a book. **_

_**He wasn't in Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, or Notable Magical Names of Our Time; he was missing, too, from Important Modern Magical Discoveries, and A Study of recent Developments in Wizardry. And then, of course, there was the sheer size of the library; tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows.  
**__  
_"Yes, we know, the library's huge," said Sirius, beginning to sound bored as he suddenly noticed everyones unbelieving gazes on him. "What?"

"How do YOU know HOW the library looks like?" Remus asked shocked.

"Erm…I was there last weekend." Sirius said grinning as he suddenly heard a soft '_thump'_ noise, Remus had fainted at the info while Severus was gripping his heart.

"Sev, are you ok?" Lucius asked his friend worried.

"Y…yes after I'm o…over the heart attack…" he said and Sirius started pouting.

_**Hermione took out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search while Ron strode off down a row of books and started pulling them off shelves at random. Harry wandered over to the Restricted Section. He had been wondering for a while if Flamel wasn't somewhere in there. **_

_**Unfortunately, you needed a specially signed note from one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books and he knew he'd never get one. These were the books containing powerful Dark Magic never taught at Hogwarts and only**__**read by older students studying advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts.  
**__  
_"Cool," said James and Sirius together.

"It is a nice section…" Severus said and everyone was staring at him again shocked.

"Is there something you want to tell us Severus?" James asked, he was already shocked about what the boy and they Head of House were doing together, but he could take the new, he hoped at least.

"We are waiting."

"Uhm…I'm helping Madam Prince out in the library and she allowed me to stay there as long as I want and I could also read in there about Oclumaranci and Ligimense becouse I would like to learn that." He said.

"Okey…Severus we really need to talk about what you do in your free time." Said Lucious to his blushing friend.

"But atleast you are back to normal again." Narcissa said smiling.

"Thanks."

"I will continue now." Molly said smiling.

_**"What are you looking for, boy?" **_

James winced. "She can be scarry."

_**"Nothing," Harry said. **_

_**Madam Pince the librarian brandished a feather duster at him.  
"You'd better get out, then. Go on - out!" **_

_**Wishing he'd been a bit quicker at thinking up some story, Harry left the library. He, Ron and Hermione had already agreed they'd better not ask madam Pince where they could find Flamel. They were sure she'd be able to tell them, but they couldn't risk Snape hearing what they were up to.  
**__  
__**Harry waited outside in the corridor to see if the other two had found anything, but he wasn't very hopeful. They had been looking for a fortnight, after all, but as they only had moments between lessons it wasn't surprising they'd found nothing. What they really needed was a nice long search without Madam Pince breathing down their necks.  
**__  
_"She is a book fanatic." Sirius commented.

_**Five minutes later, Ron and Hermione joined him, shaking their heads. They went off to lunch. **_

_**"You will keep looking while I'm away, wont you?" said Hermione. "And you'll send me an owl if you find anything." **_

_**"And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is," said Ron. "It'd be safe to ask them." **_

_**"Very safe, as they're both dentists," said Hermione.  
**__  
_"What are dentists?" asked James confused.

"They are like healers for the teeth."

"Oh…"

_**Once the holidays had started, Ron and Harry were having too good a time to think much about Flamel. They had the dormitory to themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual, so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. They sat by the hour eating anything they could spare on a toasting fork - bread, crumpets, marshmallows - and plotting ways of getting Malfoy expelled, which were fun to talk about even if they wouldn't work.  
**__  
_"We've done that many times over getting Snape expelled," said James, sighing at the memory as he suddenly joined Sirius ont he ceiling int he same state as his friend.

"Welcome to the club Prongs." Said Sirius to his sulking friend.

"I have never noticed it before, but both Black and Potter have the perfect body to wear female clothings." Severus said and suddenly was everyone looking up at the two.

"He is right, lets finish the chapter and then pounder abouth this longer." Frank said and the duo excanged woryed glances with each other.

_**Ron also started teaching Harry wizard chess. **_

_**This was exactly like Muggle chess except that the figures were alive, which made it a lot like directing troops in a battle. Ron's set was very old and battered.**_

_**Like everything else he owned, it had once belonged to someone else in his family - in this case, his grandfather. However, old chessmen weren't a drawback at all. Ron knew them so well he never had trouble getting them to do what he wanted**_**. **

"Chess is a really great and logical game." Severus commented happily.

"Oh yes we know that." Said James annoyed.

_**Harry played with chessmen Seamus Finnigan had leant him and they didn't trust him at all. **_

"Mine also don't trust me." Frank commented.

"Mine also." Sirius said.

_**He wasn't a very good player yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice to him, which was confusing: "Don't send me there, can't you see his knight? Send him, we can afford to lose him." **__  
__**  
On Christmas Eve, Harry went to bed looking forward to next day for the food and the fun, but not expecting any presents at all.  
**__  
_"Don't worry!" exclaimed James. "Your friends will surely giv you something." He said as everyone added a new point to they Dursley list.

_**When he woke early next morning, however, the first thing he saw was a small pile of packages at the foot of his bed. **_

"I was right!" exclaimed James, exchanging smiles with Lily.

_**"Happy Christmas," said Ron sleepily as Harry scrambled out of bed and pulled on his dressing-gown. **_

_**"You too," said Harry. "Will you look at this? I've got some presents!" **_

Everyone smiled at this.

_**"What did you expect, turnips?" said Ron, turning to his own pile, which was a lot bigger than Harry's.**_

_**Harry picked up the top parcel.  
**__  
_Everyone looked excited.

_**It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was **__**To Harry, from Hagrid**__**.**_

_**Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute. Hagrid had obviously whittled it himself. Harry blew it - it sounded a bit like an owl.  
**__  
_"Nice," said Sirius, smiling.

"I can also play a flute." Narcissa commented happily.

"Cissa we definitely didn't need to know what you and prince charming do over there in YOUR free time." Sirius said shuddering.

"SIRIUS! GET YOUR DIRTY MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER!! PERVERT!" the blond screamed while blushing, Severus was in the meantime using Lucius's '_Family talk'_ list to fawn some air to his friend who fainted with a bleeding nose.

"Pervert." Commented the other girls while glaring at Sirius.

After nearly twenty five minutes Severus finally managed to wake Lucius up and to stop Narcissa from murdering her cousin, which was hard then he also needed to convince himself that he should not help her in that.

_**A second, very small parcel contained a note.  
**__**We received your message and enclose your Christmas present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. **__**  
**__  
_"I can't believe they actually sent Harry something!" said Lily, amazed.

_**Sellotaped to the note was a fifty-pence piece.  
"That's friendly," said Harry.  
**__  
_"How much is fifty pence?" asked James.

"Not that much, but atleast something." Severus said.

_**Ron was fascinated by the fifty pence. **_

_**"Weird!" he said. "What a shape! This is money?" **_

_**"You can keep it," said Harry, laughing at how pleased Ron was.**_

There were some more chuckles.

_**"Hagrid and my aunt and uncle - so who sent these?" **_

_**"I think I know who that one's from," said Ron, going a bit pink and pointing to a very lumpy parcel. "My mum. I told her you didn't expect any presents and - oh, no," he groaned, "she's made you a Weasley jumper."**_

"Molly thank you for making a present for my son." Lily said smiling thankfully at the other redhead.

"Your welcome dear, atleast I can do so much for Harry."

_**Harry had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green and a large box of home-made fudge. **_

"Great present, but why green again…" Sirius whined.

"Hmm…either way is green the author's favorite color or it wants to suggest something." Remus said in a thoughtfull voice.

"My son won't be in Slytherin…" James growled.

"No, I think Remus means that it could suggest that Slytherin has some major role in Harry's live and that could not only mean Voldemorth." Severus said and the others also started to look thoughtfull at this.

_**"Every year she makes us a jumper," said Ron unwrapping his own, "and mine's always maroon." **_

_**"That's really nice of her," said Harry, trying the fudge, which was very tasty.  
His next present also contained sweets - a large box of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione.**_

_**This left only one parcel. Harry picked it up and felt it. It was very light. He unwrapped it.  
Something fluid and silvery grey went slithering to the floor, where it lay in gleaming folds. Ron gasped.  
**__**  
**_Sirius gasped. "It can't be…" James also looked wide eyed at the book, the others looked confused at they behaviour.

_**"I've heard of those," he said in a hushed voice, dropping the box of Every-Flavor Beans he'd got from Hermione. "If that's what I think it is - they're really rare, and really valuable." **_

_**"What is it?"  
Harry picked the shining, silvery cloth off the floor. It was strange to touch, like water woven into material.**_

"James that does sound like your…"

"I know Remus."

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked as suddenly the Mauraders remembered that if it is really that what they expect to be then the others would also know about it.

_**"It's an Invisibility Cloak," said Ron, a look of awe on his face. "I'm sure it is - try it on."**_

"A WHAT!!" screamed everyone.

_**Harry threw the Cloak around his shoulders and Ron gave a yell.  
"It is! Look down!"**_

_**Harry looked down at his feet, but they had gone. He dashed to the mirror. Sure enough, his reflection looked back at him, just his head suspended in mid-air, his body completely invisible. He pulled the Cloak over his head and his reflection vanished completely. **_

_**"There's a note!" said Ron suddenly. "A note fell out of it!"  
**__  
_"We'll find out who sent it!" exclaimed Sirius.

_**Harry pulled off the Cloak and seized the letter. Written in narrow, loopy writing he had never seen before were the following words: **_

_**Your father left this in my possession before he died. **__**  
**__**It is time it was returned to you. **__**  
**__**Use it well. **__**  
**__**A Very Merry Christmas to you.**_

"Yes! My son has got my cloak!" James exclaimed smiling.

"You have an Invisibility Cloak." At that James turned frightened to the three glaring Slytherin.

"Now I know how that bucked of snail slime kipped over me int he middle of the Great Hall." Hissed Narcissa.

"Now I know who kicked me by the last Quidditch training two weeks ago, so that I fell from the broom."

"And released the Budglers at us."

"Erm…sorry…"

_**There was no signature.**_

_**Harry stared at the note. Ron was admiring the Cloak.  
"I'd give anything for one of these," he said. "Anything. What's the matter?" **_

_**"Nothing," said Harry. He felt very strange. Who had sent the Cloak? Had it really once belonged to his father? **_

"Of course it is mine." James said smiling.

_**Before he could say or think anything else, the dormitory door was flung open and Fred and George Weasley bounded in. Harry stuffed the Cloak quickly out of sight. He didn't feel like sharing it with anyone else yet.**__**"Merry Christmas!" **_

_**"Hey, look - Harry's got a Weasley jumper, too!"  
Fred and George were wearing blue jumpers, one with a large yellow F on it, the other with a large yellow G.  
"Harry's is better than ours, though," said Fred, holding up Harry's jumper. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family." **_

_**"Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George demanded. "Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm." **_

_**"I hate maroon," Ron moaned half-heartedly as he pulled it over his head. **_

_**"You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid - we know we're called Gred and Forge."  
**__  
_Sirius and James looked at each other and burst out laughing. The others chuckled_._

_**"What's all this noise?"  
Percy Weasley stuck his head through the door, looking disapproving**__._

"That guy really needs to losen up." Sirius commented.

_**He had clearly come halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy jumper over his arm, which Fred seized. **_

_**"P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Harry got one."  
**__  
_James smiled broadly.

_**"I - don't - want -" said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the jumper over his head, knocking his glasses askew.  
**__  
__**"And you're not sitting with the Prefects today, either," said George. "Christmas is a time for family."  
They frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his sides by his jumper.  
**__  
_There was more laughter at this.

_**Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys, mountains of roast and boiled potatoes, platters of fat chipolatas, tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce - and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. These fantastic crackers were nothing like the feeble Muggle ones the Dursleys usually bought, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats.**_

Harry pulled a wizard cracker with Fred and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear-admiral's hat and several live, white mice.

_**Up on the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.**_

"Chirstmas at Hogwarts is always wounderful."

"We agree."

_**Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver Sickle embedded in his slice.**_

"I hope he is ok." Molly said worried.

"He is fine Molly." Arthur said.

_**Harry watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek,  
**__  
_"Urgh!" they all said, making faces so they missed no notice a pair of dark eyes glaring at the book.

_**who, to Harry's amazement, giggled and blushed, her top hat lop-sided.  
**__  
_Everyonme burst out laughing. "McGonagall's drunk!" yelled James. "Too bad we can't see her like that!"

'_She will have a major hangover the next morning.' _Severus thought.

_**When Harry finally left the table, he was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of non-explodable, luminous balloons, a grow your own warts kit and his own new wizard chess set. **_

"I love those." Sirius said.

"Yes I remember that one al to good." Severus growled.

_**The white mice had disappeared and Harry had a nasty feeling they were going to end up as Mrs. Norris' Christmas dinner. **_

Peter shuddered at that.

_**Harry and the Weasleys spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight in the grounds.**_

"Those are always fun."

"We could make some snow later after the book and play." Arthur commented and everyone started grinning.

_**Then, cold, wet and gasping for breath, they returned to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, where Harry broke in his new chess set by losing spectacularly to Ron. He suspected he wouldn't have lost so badly if Percy hadn't tried to help him so much. **_

_**After a tea of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Percy chase Fred and George all over Gryffindor Tower because they'd stolen his prefect badge.  
**__  
_There were chuckles, the loudest from Sirius and James. "Those two are great!"

"Boys…" Molly said while shaking her head in mock sorrow.

_**It had been Harry's best Christmas day ever. Yet something had been nagging at the back of his mind all day. Not until he climbed into bed was he free to think about it: the Invisibility Cloak and whoever had sent it.**_

"We are all woting for Dumbledore."

_**Ron, full of turkey and cake and with nothing mysterious to bother him, fell asleep almost as soon as he'd drawn the curtains of his four-poster. **_

_**Harry leant over the side of his own bed and pulled the Cloak out from under it.  
His father's ... this had been his father's.  
**__  
_James removed his glasses and wiped away a tear.

_**He let the material flow over his hands, smoother than silk, light as air. Use it well, the note had said. **_

_**He had to try it, now. He slipped out of bed and wrapped the Cloak around**__**himself. Looking down at his legs, he saw only moonlight and shadows. It was a very funny feeling. **_

_**Use it well. **_

_**Suddenly, Harry felt wide awake. The whole of Hogwarts was open to him in this Cloak. Excitement flooded through him as he stood there in the dark and silence. He could go anywhere in this, anywhere, and Filch would never know. **_

_**Ron grunted in his sleep. Should Harry wake him?  
**__  
__**Something held him back - his father's Cloak - he felt that this time - the first time - he wanted to use it alone. **_

_**He crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room and climbed through the portrait hole. **_

_**"Who's there?" squawked the Fat Lady. Harry said nothing. He walked quickly down the corridor. Where should he go? He stopped, his heart racing, and thought. And then it came to him. The Restricted Section in the library.  
**__  
_"Good idea," said James.

"Uhm…Harry should be careful, some dark books can be not alt o pleasant." Lucius said.

"I agree."

"What do you guys mean?"

_**He'd be able to read as long as he liked, as long as it took to find out who Flamel was. He set off, drawing the Invisibility Cloak tight around him as he walked.  
The library was pitch black and very eerie. Harry lit a lamp to see his way along the rows of books.**_

The lamp looked as if it was floating in mid-air, and even though Harry could feel his arm supporting it, the sight gave him the creeps.  
The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope which separated these books from the rest of the library, he held up his lamp to read the titles.

_**They didn't tell him much. Their peeling, faded gold letters spelled words in languages Harry couldn't understand. Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood.  
**__  
_"Probably was," muttered Sirius.

"I know from the exact places of a five books there." Severus said.

_**The hairs on the back of Harry's neck prickled. Maybe he was imagining it, maybe not, but he thought a faint whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone was there who shouldn't be.**_

At that turned everyone to Severus.

"Uhm…yes they can do that." He said and most of the thers paled.

_**He had to start somewhere. Setting the lamp down carefully on the floor, he looked along the bottom shelf for an interesting-looking book. A large black and silver volume caught his eye. He pulled it out with difficulty, because it was very heavy, and, balancing it on his knee, let it fall open. **_

_**A piercing, blood-curdling shriek split the silence - the book was screaming!  
**__  
_They all winced. "Harry had to go and open a screaming book," moaned Remus.

"It wouldn't have screamed if Harry would have asked politely." Severus said and the others stared at him oddly.

_**Harry snapped it shut, but the shriek went on an on, one high, unbroken, ear-splitting note. He stumbled backwards and knocked over his lamp, which went out at once. **_

_**Panicking, he heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside - stuffing the shrieking book back on the shelf, he ran for it.**_

"Would do the same." Sirius said.

_**He passed filch almost in the doorway; Filch's pale, wide eyes looked straight through him and Harry slipped under Filch's outstretched arm and streaked off up the corridor, the book's shrieks still ringing in his ears. **_

_**He came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armor. He had been so busy getting away from the library; he hadn't paid any attention to where he was going. **_

_**Perhaps because it was dark, he didn't recognize where he was at all. There was a suit of armor near the kitchens, he knew, but he must be five floors above there. **_

_**"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library - Restricted Section." **_

_**Harry felt the blood drain out of his face. Wherever he was, Filch must know a short cut, because his soft, greasy voice was getting nearer, and to his horror, it was Snape who replied. **_

"Why me again…" Severus whined.

"Just a question, do you actually ever sleep?" James asked, Severus wanted to answer, but Lucius beat him at that.

"Yes he does even if I need to chase him around and tuck him int o bed." He said as Severus started blushing while the others stared wide eyed at the duo.

"And I'm the one about who you tell gay jokes?" Sirius asked.

"Yes."

_**"The restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."  
Harry stood rooted to the spot as Filch and Snape came around the corner ahead. They couldn't see him, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much nearer they'd knock right into him - the Cloak didn't stop him being solid.**_"We found that out ont he hard way…"

_**He backed away as quietly as he could. A door stood ajar to his left. It was his only hope.**_

_**He squeezed through it, holding his breath, trying not to move it, and to his relief he managed to get inside the room without their noticing anything.  
**__  
_"Thank Merlin!' said Lily, relieved.

_**They walked straight past and Harry leant against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dying away. That had been close, very close. **_

_**It was a few seconds before he noticed anything about the room he had hidden in.It looked like a disused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls and there was an upturned waste-paper basket - but propped against the wall facing him was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep it out of the way. **_

_**It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.**_

"What does that mean?" Frank asked confused.

"I have it in a minute." Severus said while scribling something at a parchment. "Yes, it is also written backwards; _"__ I show not your face but your heart's desire…". _

"I have a bad feeling about this." Narcissa said suddenly.

_**His panic fading now that there was no sound of Filch and Snape, Harry moved nearer to the mirror, wanting to look at himself but see no reflection again. **_

_**He stepped in front of it.  
He had to clap his hands to his mouth to stop himself screaming.  
**__  
_They all looked at each other, puzzled and Narcissa looked more worried then before.

_**He whirled around. His heart was pounding far more furiously than when the book had screamed - for he had seen not only himself in the mirror, but a whole crowd of people standing right behind him.  
**__  
_"But the room is supposed to be empty!" exclaimed Sirius.

_**But the room was empty. Breathing very fast, he turned slowly back to the mirror.  
There he was, reflected in it, white and scared-looking, and there, reflected behind him, were at least ten others. Harry looked over his shoulder - but, still, no one was there. Or were they all invisible, too? Was he in fact in a room full of invisible people and this mirror's trick was that it reflected them, invisible or not? **_

_**He looked in the mirror again. A woman standing right behind his reflection was smiling at him and waving. He reached out a hand and felt the air behind him. If she really was there, he'd touch her, their reflections were so close together, but he felt only air - she and the others existed only in the mirror. **__  
__**  
She was a very pretty woman. She had dark red hair and her eyes - her eyes are just like mine, Harry thought, edging a little closer to the glass. Bright green - exactly the same shape, but then he noticed that she was crying; smiling, but crying at the same time.  
**__  
_Lily gasped. "T-that's…" she burried her face in to James shoulders who was allowed to get down, but still transformed.

_**The tall, thin, black-haired man standing next to her put his arm around her. He wore glasses, and his hair was very untidy. It stuck up at the back, just like Harry's did.**_

"Hi…his hearts greatest desire…" Remus whispered, but then gasped as he suddenly realized why Narcissa was worried. "Harry leave that place imediately." He said suddenly panicked.

"I agree with him, get out of there." Severus said int he same panicked tone.

"What is wrong?" James asked confused.

"Harry needs to get away from there…" Narcissa said.

_**Harry was now so close to the mirror now**__**that his nose was nearly touching that of his reflection.  
"Mum?" he whispered. "Dad?"**_

_**They just looked at him, smiling. And slowly, Harry looked into the faces of the other people in the mirror and saw other pairs of green eyes like his, other noses like his, and even a little old man who looked as though he had Harry's knobbly knees –**_

Lily and James both started crying and Molly started to also look worried.

_**Harry was looking at his family for the first time in his life. **_

_**The Potters smiled and waved at Harry as he stared hungrily back at them, his hands pressed flat against the glass as though he was hoping to fall right through and reach them.**_

_**He had a powerful kind of ache inside him, half joy, half terrible sadness.**_The others had also tears in they eyes.

_**How long he stood there, he didn't know. The reflections did not fade and he looked and looked until a distant noise brought him back to his senses. He couldn't stay here; he had to find his way back to bed**_**.**

"YES LEAVE IMEDIATELY!" yelled Remus, Severus, Narcissa and Molly together.

"What the heck is wrong with you?"

_**He tore his eyes away from his mother's face, whispered, "I'll come back," and hurried from the room. **_

_**"You could have woken me up," said Ron, crossly. **_

_**"You can come tonight, I'm going back, I want to show you the mirror." **_

_**"I'd like to see your mum and dad," Ron said eagerly. **__  
__**  
"And I want to see all your family, all the Weasleys, you'll be able to show me your other brothers and everyone."**_

_**"You can see them any old time," said Ron. "Just come round my house this summer. Anyway, maybe it only shows dead people. Shame about not finding Flamel, though**__. __**Have some bacon or something, why aren't you eating anything?"**_

_**Harry couldn't eat. He had seen his parents and would be seeing them again tonight. He had**__**almost forgotten about Flamel. It didn't seem very important anymore. **_

"Oh no…I think I'm storting to understand why you wanted him away from the mirror." James said panicked and the others also gasped.

_**Who cared what the three-headed dog was guarding? What did it matter if Snape stole it, really?**_"Not god, not god, not god…" Sirius muttered.

_**"Are you all right?" said Ron. "You look odd." **_

_**What Harry feared most was that he might not be able to find the mirror room again. With Ron covered in the Cloak too, they had to walk much more slowly next night. They tried retracing Harry's route from the library, wandering around the dark passageways for nearly an hour.**_

_**"I'm freezing," said Ron. "Let's forget it and go back." **_

_**"No!" Harry hissed. "I know it's here somewhere." **_

_**They passed the ghost of a tall witch gliding in the opposite direction, but saw no one else. Just as Ron started moaning that his feet were dead with cold, Harry spotted the suit of armor.  
"It's here - just here - yes!" **_

_**They pushed the door open. Harry dropped the Cloak from round his shoulders**__**and ran to the mirror**__._

_**There they were. His mother and father beamed at the sight of him. **_

_**"See?" Harry whispered. **_

_**"I can't see anything." **_

_**"Look! Look at them all ... there are loads of them ..." **_

_**"I can only see you."**_

Remus frowned. "I think it's because it shows only your heart's desire."

_**"Look in it properly, go on, and stand where I am." **_

_**Harry stepped aside, but with Ron in front of the mirror, he couldn't see his family any more, just Ron in his paisley pajamas. **_

_**Ron, though, was staring transfixed at his image.  
"Look at me!" he said. **_

_**"Can you see all your family standing around you?" **_

_**"No - I'm alone - but I'm different - I look older - and I'm Head Boy!" **_

"WHAT!"

"My wounderful son." Molly said smiling.

_**"What?" **_

_**"I am - I'm wearing the badge like Bill used to - and I'm holding the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup - I'm Quidditch captain, too!"  
**__  
_"That sounds better." James said.

_**Ron tore his eyes away from this splendid sight to look excitedly at Harry. **_

_**"Do you think this mirror shows the future?" **_

_**"How can it? All my family are dead - let me have another look -" **_

_**"You had it all to yourself last night, give me a bit more time." **_

_**"You're only holding the Quidditch Cup, what's interesting about that? I want to see my parents." **_

_**"Don't push me -" **_

_**A sudden noise outside in the corridor put an end to their discussion. They hadn't realized how loudly they had been talking.  
"Quick!"  
**__  
_"Uh, oh!" said Lily, looking worried.

_**Ron threw the Cloak back over them as the luminous eyes of Mrs. Norris came round the door. Ron and Harry stood quite still, both thinking the same thing - did the Cloak work on cats? After what seemed an age, she turned and left.**_

_**"This isn't safe - she might have gone for Filch, I bet she heard us. Come on."  
And Ron pulled Harry out of the room. **_

_**The snow still hadn't melted next morning. **_

_**"Want to play chess, Harry?" said Ron. **_

_**"No." **_

_**"Why don't we go down and visit Hagrid?" **_

_**"No ... you go ..." **_

_**"I know what you're thinking about, Harry, that mirror. Don't go back tonight." **_

_**"Why not?" **_

_**"I don't know, I've just got a bad feeling about it - and, anyway, you've had too many close shaves already. Filch, Snape and Mrs. Norris are wandering around. So what if they can't see you? What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?"**_

"That would be bad."

_**"You sound like Hermione."  
"I'm serious, Harry, don't go." **_

"Yes listen to Ron, Harry." Lily pleaded.

_**But Harry only had one thought in his head, which was to get back in front of the mirror, and Ron wasn't going to stop him.  
**__  
_"Stubborn, like his father," said Sirius.**  
**_  
__**That third night he found his way more quickly than before. He was walking so fast he knew he was making more noise than was wise, but he didn't meet anyone. **_

_**And there were his mother and father, smiling at him again, and one of his grandfathers nodding happily. Harry sank down to sit on the floor in front of the mirror. There was nothing to stop him staying here all night with his family. Nothing at all.  
Except - "So - back again, Harry?" **_

_**Harry felt as though his insides had turned to ice. He looked behind him. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Albus Dumbledore.  
**__  
_"Oh, it's only Dumbledore," said James relieved.

_**Harry must have walked straight past him, so desperate to get to the mirror he hadn't noticed him.  
" I - I didn't see you, sir." **_

_**"Strange how short-sighted being invisible can make you," said Dumbledore, and Harry was relieved to see that he was smiling.  
**__  
_They all looked relieved at this.

_"__**So," said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit on the floor with Harry, "you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised." **_

_**"I didn't know it was called that, sir." **_

_**"But I expect you've realized by now what it does?" **_

_**"It - well - it shows me my family -" **_

_**"And it showed your friend Ron himself as Head Boy." **_

"So Dumbledore was watching them! That crafty old man," said James.

"He could have acted sooner."

_**"How did you know-?" **_

_**"I don't need a cloak to become invisible," said Dumbledore gently. "Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?" **_

_**Harry shook his head.  
**__  
_"You'r greatest desire," they all said.

_**"Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is; he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?" **_

_**Harry thought. Then he said slowly. "It shows us what we want ... whatever we want ..." **_

_**"Yes and no," said Dumbledore quietly. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you.  
**__  
_James looked stony, while Lily's face was sad.

_**Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers,**_

At that looked both Molly and Arthur a bit sadly at the book.

_**sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen,**__**or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible. **_

Everyone let out a gasp again.

_**"The mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again.  
**__  
__**If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that.  
Now, why don't you put that admirable Cloak back on and get off to bed?"  
**__  
_"Dumbledore likes my Cloak?" said James, looking confused_._

_**Harry stood up.  
"Sir - Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?" **_

_**"Obviously, you've just done so," Dumbledore smiled. "You may ask me one more thing, however." **_

_**"What do you see when you look in the Mirror?" **_

_**"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."  
**__  
_"What?" they all exclaimed.

"That man can't be serious!"

_**Harry stared.  
"One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books." **_

_**It was only when he was back in bed that it struck Harry that Dumbledore might not have been quite truthful. But then, he thought, as he shoved Scabbers off his pillow, it had been quite a personal question. **_

"That might be true, but we will still get him some socks for Christmas." James said.

"I will read next." Frank said, but before that he started grinning.

"Erm guys…what is wrong?" asked Sirius finally ont he ground as he and James started to back away from they friends.

"Get them!" Frank yelled as the two backed against the wall.

"NOOO!!" screamed both James and Sirius in horror.

"Children nowdays." Phineas said smiling as he heard both James and Sirius plead for mercy and the fight belove his portrait.

"Meow…"

"NO PLEASE HAVE MERCY…!!"

_To be continued…_

* * *

A/N: you will find out int he next chapter what the others did…


	14. A little joke

A/N: and now here comes the next chapter…

XIV. A little joke and _Nicholas Flamel_

* * *

"We hate you all…" James growled while Sirius was muttering death curses under his breath, glaring at everyone.

"Yes we love you to." Lucius said in an amused tone and you could clearly hear the little tinge of laugh in his tone.

"You are so done after this…" growled Sirius at the others who were grinning. _"This is a nightmare." _

Both he and James were pinned by magic to they seats, dressed in two cocktail dresses, James in blue while Sirius in red. For that they were tackled by the other boys and held down while Narcissa and Alice who were rather good in Transfigurations transfigured they clothing, ignoring the two struggling and panicked boys and then come the fun…

"Wow, never thought that such a girly thing would be so much fun. Someone please pass me the eyeliner." Frank said as he put the red lipstick he used to paint Sirius's lips down.

"Sirius you will look so great after I'm finished with your braid." Narcissa said smiling, clearly enjoying her time with her cousin.

"This is like playing with a doll." Molly said smiling at the pleasant memory.

"HELP!!" both James and Sirius screamed in terror while fighting against they bonds.

After two hours of playing dressing and putting make up at both they victims stood the whole group in amazement in front of they work, admiring what they have done.

"You know that even if Potter not so much, but Black would have turned out as a rather hot girl." Severus commented suddenly as he put the green eye shadow he used on Sirius down.

"We really need to agree on that with Severus." The girls also agreed.

"Really Sirius now you would only need a décolletage and you would be probably the hottest girl in Hogwarts." Frank pointed out.

"And if you would really be a girl you would get every guy to go out with you…hey Sev could you make a gender-banding potion?" Remus asked the black haired boy amused.

"I think I could make one." He answered in a thoughtful voice.

"Would one of you like to go out with me sometime?" Peter asked grinning.

"Shut up…" both growled.

"Now, now children it is now really time that you start reading again." Phineas said and the kids settled down, James and Sirius still sulking because they couldn't get they normal things back and they will probably even more after finding out a little annoying fact. Meanwhile as a certain black feline trying to hold back her laughter.

_**Dumbledore had convinced Harry not to go looking for the Mirror of Erised again and for the rest of the Christmas holidays the Invisibility Cloak stayed folded **__**at**__**the**__**bottom**__**of**__**Harry's**__**trunk**__**.**_

"Thank Merlin for that." Lily said.

"Yes it is better for him without that damned mirror." Narcissa said, she liked mirrors, but this one even if only reading about it and the uneasy feeling to know that it was here somewhere in the school, made her feel a strange sort of fear.

"Yes, but why doesn't he use the cloak?" James whined.

"Looks like your son will have a bit more sense then you Potter." Severus said with a grin.

_**Harry wished he could forget what he'd seen in the Mirror as easily, but he couldn't. He started having nightmares. Over and over again he dreamed about his parents disappearing in a flash of green light while a high voice cackled with laughter.**_

Everyone stared sad at the ground till Frank continued.

_**"You see, Dumbledore was right, that mirror could drive you mad," said Ron, when Harry**__**told him about these dreams.**_

_**Hermione, who came back the day before term started, took a different view of things. She was torn between horror at the idea of Harry being out of bed, roaming the school three nights in a row ("If Filch had caught you!") and disappointment that he hadn't found out who Nicolas Flamel was.**_

_**They had almost given up hope of ever finding Flamel in a library book, even though Harry was still sure he'd read the name somewhere. Once term had started, they were back to skimming through books for ten minutes during their breaks. Harry had even less time than the other two, because Quidditch practice had started practice again.**_

"Yes a new match!" James yelled happily.

"Say the word Quidditch and he will even forget that he is dressed like a woman." Remus said to Lily who nodded.

_**Wood was working them harder than ever.**_

"Maniac," muttered Remus, earning a glare from James_._

_**Even the endless rain that had replaced the snow couldn't dampen his spirits. The Weasleys complained that Wood was becoming a fanatic, but Harry was on Wood's side.**_

"Well of course, he is my son."

"We know James, we know…"

"Unfortunately…"

"What was that Snape?"

"James shut up so that Frank can continue."

"Yes Lily flower."

"Don't call me that."

"But…"

"Frank continue."

"Uhm…ok…"

_**If they won their next match, against Hufflepuff, they would overtake Slytherin in the House Championship for the first time in seven years.**_

"Finally!" said James happily.

"Hufflepuff is not hard to beat." Lucius said.

"Mostly then if the captain nearly faints every time he sees a certain Slytherin." James said grinning and Lucius glared.

_**Quite apart from wanting to win, Harry found he had fewer nightmares when he was tired out after training.**_

_**Then, during one particularly wet and muddy practice session, Wood gave the team a bit of bad news. He'd just got very angry with the Weasleys, who kept dive-bombing each other and pretending to fall off their brooms.**_

"As already pointed out, the twins are great." Sirius said grinning.

"Boys stop fooling around." Molly said in a scolding tone.

"We should do the same next week by the practice." James suggested.

"I'm in it."

_**"Will you stop messing around!" he yelled. "That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time, and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"**_

"WHAT!!" screamed everyone in shock and stared at a confused looking Severus.

"Erm…I will be the referee?" he asked confused.

"Looks like it, well that shouldn't shock them I mean you are Slytherin's seeker in our time and a rather good one." Said James and Severus blushed at the compliment.

_**George Weasley really did fall off his broom at these words. **_

"Great, I soo love my effect on children int he future." Severus sneered, arms folded in front of his chest.

_**"Snape's refereeing?" he spluttered through a mouthful of mud. "When's he ever refereed a Quidditch match? He's not going to be fair if we might overtake Slytherin."**_

"HEY! I RESEND THAT COMMENT!"

"Sev please calm down."

"But Lily…" he whined.

"I know, but please calm down." She said while petting his back.

"Why does she always need to be nice to him…." James whined, but was ignored.

_**The rest of the team landed next to George to complain, too.  
"It's not my fault," said Wood. "We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Snape hasn't got an excuse to pick on us."**_

_**Which was all very well, thought Harry, but he had another reason for not wanting Snape near him while he was playing Quidditch...The rest of the team hung back to talk to each other as usual at the end of practice, but Harry headed straight back to the Gryffindor common room, where he found Ron and Hermione playing chess.**_

_**Chess was the only thing Hermione ever lost at, something Harry and Ron thought was very good for her. Which was all very well, thought Harry, but he had another reason for not wanting Snape near him while he was playing Quidditch...**_

"How wounderfull…" he growled.

"Don't worry Sev, I'm sure that everything will turn out good." Lucius said in a reassuring tone.

_**The rest of the team hung back to talk to each other as usual at the end of practice, but Harry headed straight back to the Gryffindor common room, where he found Ron and Hermione playing chess.**_

_**Chess was the only thing Hermione ever lost at, something Harry and Ron thought was very good for her.**_

"Sometimes such little things can be helpfull." Remus said in a thoughtfull voice.

"Yes, you rather often loose against James in chess, buti t keeps you in touch with the reall world." Sirius said grinning.

"Then James should try to beat Sev in a chess game, I always lose." Lucius said.

"He can beat McGonagall, I would lose in a second." James said grinning.

_**"Don't talk to me for a moment," said Ron when Harry sat down next to him. "I need to concen-" He caught sight of Harry's face. "What's the matter with you? You look terrible."**_

_**Speaking quietly so that no one else could hear, Harry told the other two about Snape's sudden, sinister desire to be a Quidditch referee.**_

_**"Don't play," said Hermione at once.**_

_**"Say you're ill," said Ron.**_

_**"Pretend to break your leg," Hermione suggested.**_

_**"Really break your leg," said Ron.**_

"No Potter will back down from a Quidditch match!" James exclaimed as he stuck a dramaticall pose, earning himself a five wolf wistles from the other boys. This made him sit down imediately, blushing furiously.

_**"I can't," said Harry. "There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play at all."**_

"WHAT!! HARRY JAMES POTTER, I'M NOT INTERESTED IN WHO WILL BE THE REFREE IT COULD EVEN BE YOUR DUMB MUGGLE OF AN UNCLE, BUT YOU WILL PLAY YOUNG MAM!!" James yelled while the others stared at him strangely.

_**At that moment Neville toppled into the common room. How he had managed to climb through the portrait hole was anyone's guess, because his legs had been stuck together with what they recognised at once as the Leg-Locker Curse.**_

"WHAT!" roared Frank and Alice in anger.

"Who did this to my baby!" Alice yelled angered and frank was glaring at the book.

"Lucius grab that list of yours and start scribbling on it..." Frank hissed and Lucius immediately grabbed his list.

_**He must have had to bunny hop all the way up to Gryffindor Tower.**_

"My poor little baby…"

_**Everyone fell about laughing except Hermione, who leapt up and performed the counter-curse. Neville's legs sprang apart and he got to his feet trembling.**_

"Thank Merlin that Hermione is such of an intelligent young witch." Alice said in a releaved tone and Frank also smiled.

_**"What happened?" Harmione asked him, leading him over to sit with Harry and ron.**_

_**"Malfoy," said Neville shakily.**_

At that shook Narcissa her head in mock sorrow at the immature behavior of her son while Lucius was on his list again, the others glared at the book while Severus looked with sympathy at his friends.

_**"I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on."**_

_**"Go to Professor McGonagall!" Hermione urged him. "Report him!"**_

_**Neville shook his head.  
"I don't want more trouble," he mumbled.**_

_**"You've got to stand up to him, Neville!" said Ron. **_

"Ron is perfectly right son." Frank said in a warm voice.

_**"He's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier."**_

_**"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Malfoy's already done that," Neville choked.**_

"OUR SON BELONGS IN GRIFFINDOR!!" both Frank and Alice screamed.

_**Harry felt in the pocket of his robes and pulled out a Chocolate Frog, the very last one from the box Hermione had given him for Christmas. He gave it to Neville, who looked as though he might cry.**_

"Awww Lily your son is such a sweet boy." Alice said while fighting back her tears.

"I'm also proud of him." Said Lily while holding her friend's hands.

_**"You're worth twelve of Malfoy," Harry said. "The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin."**_

"HEY!!" yelled the four Slytherin and even the cat looked offended.

"Ronald! Don't say something like that." Molly said in a scolding tone to the unborn boy.

_**Neville's lips twitched in a weak smile as he unwrapped the Frog.  
"Thanks, Harry ... I think I'll go to bed ... D'you want the card, you collect them, don't you?"**__._

_**As Neville walked away. Harry looked at the Famous Wizard card.  
"Dumbledore again," he said. "He was the first one I ever -"  
He gasped. He stared at the back of the card. Then he looked up at Ron and Hermione.**_

"What is it?" Peter asked and the others also looked puzzled.

_**"I've found him!" he whispered. "I've found Flamel! I told you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the train coming here - listen to this: 'Professor Dumbledore is particualrly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel'!"**_

"Yes they have finally found Flamel!" Sirius yelled happily.

"It was about time."

_**Hermione jumped to her feet. She hadn't looked so excited since they'd got back their marks for their very first piece of homework.**_

_**"Stay there!" she said, and she sprinted up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. Harry and Ron barely had time to exchange mystified looks before she was dashing back, an enormous old book in her arms.**_

_**"I never thought to look in here!" she whispered excitedly. "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."**_

"She cals that _light reading_?!" Sirius managed to bring out shocked.

"She is worse then Moony!" James pointed out.

"Then you really should see what Sev here likes to call _light reading."_Lucius said grinning.

"Ugh…I don't even want to know." James replied.

_**"Light?" said Ron, but Hermione told him to be quiet until she'd looked something up, and started flicking frantically through the pages, muttering to herself**__._

_**At last she found what she was looking for.  
"I knew it! I knew it!"**_

_**"Are we allowed to speak yet?" said Ron grumpily.**_

Sirius and James chuckled.

_**Hermione ignored him.  
"Nicolas Flamel," she whispered dramatically, "is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone!"**_

_**This didn't have quite the effect she'd expected.  
"The what?" said Harry and Ron.**_

_**"Oh, honestly, don't you two read?**_

"I dearly hope for my son that he does." Lily said and Molly nodded.

_**Look - read that, there."  
She pushed the book towards them, and Harry and Ron read:**_

_**The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The Stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.  
There have been many reports of the Philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera-lover. Mr Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight).**_

"Ugh…wow…" was al Sirius could say.

"And I thought that my great-granduncle Ablen was old when he died." James said.

"How old was he?" Arthur asked.

"Two hundred sixty eight."

"That is nice for him." Frank said.

_**"See?" said Hermione, when Harry and Ron had finished. "The dog must be guarding Flamel's Philosopher's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it. That's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!"**_

_**"A stone that makes gold and stops you ever dying!" said Harry. "No wonder Snape's after it! Anyone would want it."**_

"Hey I don't plan to become immortal." Severus growled.

"Yes yiou already look like a vampire, no need for the immortality part." Sirius said and Severus glared at him.

"I'm not a vampire, it isn't my foult that my skin is so damned pale and all."

_**"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry," said Ron. "He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?"**_

_**Next morning in Defence Against the Dark Arts, while copying down different ways of treating werewolf bites,**_

At that Remus's eyes suddenly lit up in hope that int he future there ight be a way, not for complet healing, but something which could lessen the pain of the transformations.

_**Harry and Ron were still discussing what they'd do with a Philosopher's Stone if they had one. It wasn't until Ron said he'd buy his own Quidditch team that Harry remembered about Snape and the coming match.**_

_**"I'm going to play," he told Ron and Hermione. "If I don't, all the Slytherins will think I'm just too scared to face Snape. I'll show them ... it'll really wipe the smiles off their faces if we win."**_

"Yes, that is my son!" James yelled happily.

_**"Just as long as we're not wiping you off the pitch," said Hermione.**_

"I hope that he will be alright." Lily said in a worried tone.

_**As the match drew nearer, however, Harry became more and more nervous, whatever he told Ron and Hermione. The rest of the team weren't too calm, either. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the House Championship was wonderful, no one had done it for nearly seven years, **_

"Yes remind me, put salt in my poor wounds…" James whined and Sirius mourned.

_**but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee?**_

"HEY!" Severus roared offended by that sentence part.

"Sev calm down." Lucius said as he put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

_**Harry didn't know whether he was imagining it or not, but he seemed to be running into Snape wherever he went.**_

"How do you do that actually?" Sirius asked.

"What?"

"That you always seem to appear out of nowhere." James said.

"Now that is my secret." Severus said grinning while waging a finger.

_**At times, he wondered whether Snape was following him, trying to catch him on his own.**_

"I don't think so." Remus said.

_**Potions lessons were turning into a sort of weekly torture, Snape was so horrible to Harry.**_

"How wonderful to know that everyone will have so much fun in my classes." Severus muttered sarcasticaly.

_**Could Snape possibly know they'd found out about the Philosopher's Stone? Harry didn't see how he could - yet he sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds.**_

At that stared everyone at Severus.

"Sev, I know about that book about Ligimency under your pillow." Lucius said with a raised eyebrow.

"Uhm…well if I had succeeded then Harry the answer is a clear '_yes." _Severus said.

"Wait…you two are trying to tell us here that you," -with that Sirius pointed at Severus- "are learning Ligimency?" he asked in a shocked and unbelieving tone.

"Yes." He said and nearly everyone int he room paled.

_**Harry knew, when they wished him good luck outside the changing rooms next afternoon, that Ron and Hermione were wondering whether they'd ever see him alive again.**_

_**This wasn't what you'd call comforting.**_

"You tell us?"

_**Harry hardly heard a word of Wood's pep talk as he pulled on his Quidditch robes and picked up his Nimbus two Thousand.  
Ron and Hermione, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Neville, who couldn't understand why they looked so grim and worried, or why they had both brought their wands to the match.**_

"Those two are real mates." Sirius said while the others nodded.

_**Little did Harry know that Ron and Hermione had been secretly practicing the Leg-Locker Curse. They'd got the idea from Malfoy using it on Neville, and were ready to use it on Snape if he showed any sign of wanting to hurt Harry.**_

At that James, Sirius and Frank started snickering while Severus stared gapping at the book.

"I'm warning you three…" Narcissa let the end of her threat hanging for a better effect which seemed to work then all three shut up.

_**"Now, don't forget, it's Locomotor Mortis," Hermione muttered as Ron slipped his wand up his sleeve.  
"I know," Ron snapped. "Don't nag."**_

_**Back in the changing room, Wood had taken Harry aside.  
"Don't want to pressure you, Potter, but if we ever need an early capture of the snitch it's now.**_

"Oh, yeah, like that's not pressuring him at all," said James, looking sour.

"You would have done the same." Lily commented and James started to stare in his lap.

_**Finish the game before Snape can favour Hufflepuff too much."**_

"Don't worry about that one, no Head of Slytherin would favour Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, would like to know why?" said James in a thoughtfull voice so he missed to notice Severus flinching.

"_I know the ground…"_he thought bitterly.

_**"The whole school's out there!" said Fred Weasley, peering out of the door. "Even - blimey - Dumbledore's come to watch!"**_

"Yes, Dumbledore is there so Harry is safe." Arthur said and everyone sighed in relief.

"Yes Harry should be safe now."

_**Harry's heart did a somersault.  
"Dumbledore?" he said, dashing to the door to make sure. Fred was right. There was no mistaking that silver beard.**_

"Yep, the beard is anmistakable." Sirius said grinning.

"You can bet on that."

_**Harry could have laughed out loud with relief. He was safe. There was simply no way Snape would dare to try and hurt him if Dumbledore was watching.**_

"I'm not doing anything Harry…"

_**Perhaps that was why Snape was looking so angry as the teams marched onto the pitch, something that ron had noticed, too.  
"I've never seen Snape look so mean,"**_

"I bet we saw you more angered that there." James said.

"And I fear that you would be winning that bet." Severus said bitterly and Lucius glared at both James and Sirius.

_**he told Hermione. "Look - they're off. Ouch!"  
Someone had poked Ron in the back of the head. It was Malfoy.**_

"I have the feeling that this is my que to go return to my list again." Lucius groaned.

"Good guess, uhm…Molly, Narcissa, Alice I think you will not like the following part." Frnk said as the three women looked at the book worried.

_**"Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there."  
Malfoy grinned broadly at Crabbe and Goyle.**_

_**"Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?"  
Ron didn't answer; Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George Weasley had hit a Bludger at him.**_

"Oh great, a pleasant school time memory."

"GEORGE WEASLEY HOW DARE YOU HIT A BLUDGER AT A TEACHER!!" Molly yelled angered.

"Nice one, buti t is not a to good idea to attack the refree." James said.

_**Hermione, who had all her fingers crossed in her lap, was squinting fixedly at Harry, who was circling the game like a hawk, looking for the Snitch.  
"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" said Malfoy loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all.**_

_**"It's the people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the weasleys, who've got no money - you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains."**_

"WHAT THAT LITTLE…" Frank started, but he was interupted.

"DRACO MALFOY, WHEN I FIND OUT FROM WHO YOU HAVE LEARNED SUCK MANNERS THEY WILL BE SORRY AND YOU TO YOUNG MAN!" Narcissa shreaked in anger at her son's behaviour.

_**Neville went bright red but turned in his seat to face Malfoy.  
"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," he stammered.**_

_**Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle howled with laughter, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes from the game, said, "You tell him, Neville."**_

"Yes!" most of the boys cheered.

_**"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."**_

"I think I will soon need a new parchment." Commented Lucius.

_**Ron's nerves were already stretched to breaking point with anxiety about Harry.  
"I'm warning you, Malfoy - one more word -"**_

_**"Ron!" said Hermione suddenly. "Harry -!"**_

_**"What? Where?"**_

"What's going on?"asked Lily anxiously.

_**Harry had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd. Hermione stood up, her crosses fingers in her mouth, as Harry streaked towards the ground like a bullet.**_

"Could it be…"

"YES! GO GET THE SNITCH HARRY!" James cheered and started jumping around.

"GAHH! POTTER SIT DOWN IMEDIATELY OR ATLEAST PLEASE STOP JUMPING AROUND WE ARE NOT INTERESTED IN SEING THAT!" Lucius yelled in disgust.

"BLOODY HELL!" James screamed in shock as he noticed that everyone int hat room knew now what sort of boxers he picked up today.

_**"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Malfoy.  
Ron snapped.**_

"Uhoh…"

_**Before Malfoy knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. Neville hesitated, then clambered over the back of his seat to help.**_

"YES!" most of the boys cheered.

"Oh no…" was the only thing the three future mothers could bring out after having a nice guess what they children will do.

_**"Come on, Harry!" Hermione screamed, leaping off her seat to watch as Harry sped straight at Snape -**_

"Potter I warn you, knock me down from that broom and I fear you will be rather sorry." Severus said looking worried.

_**she didn't even notice Malfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, **_

"Nice for her."

_**or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe and Goyle.**_

"MY BABY IF FIGHTING ALONE AGAINST THOSE TWO IDIOTS!" Alice shreaked.

"Yes, that is my son!" Frank said proudly.

_**Up in the air, Snape turned on his broomstick just in time to see something scarlet shoot past him, missing him by inches**_

"Puh…" Severus let out a relieved sigh.

_**- next second, Harry had pulled out of the dive, his arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in his hand.**_

"YES! THAT'S MY BOY!" James cheered.

"Harry is great."

**The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly.**

Lily looked proud as she wiped her eyes. The others all cheered loudly.

_**"Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game's over! Herry's won! We've won! Gryffindor are in the lead!" shrieked Hermione, dancing up and down on her seat and hugging Parvati Patil in the row in front.**_

"He, he, he…I think he is still somewhat bussy under your seat." Sirius said grinning while earning a five glares.

_**Harry jumped off his broom, a foot from the ground. He couldn't believe it. He'd done it - the game was over; it had barely lasted five minutes. As Gryffindors came spilling on to the pitch, he saw Snape land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped**_

"Oh we know that look right Paddy?"

"Correct Prongs."

_**- then Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Dumbledore's smiling face.**_

_**"Well done," said Dumbledore quietly, so that only Harry could hear. "Nice to see you haven't been brooding about that mirror ... been keeping busy ... excellent ..."  
Snape spat bitterly on the ground.**_

_**Harry left the changing room alone some time later, to take his Nimbus Two Thousand back to the broomshed. He couldn't ever remember feeling happier.**_

"How sad," said Lily. "His happiest moment is winning a Quidditch match."

James sighed and the others looked sad.

_**He'd really done something to be proud of now -**_

_**no one could say he was just a famous name any more. The evening air had never smelled so sweet.**_

"Know what you mean son."

_**He walked over the damp grass, reliving the last hour in his head, which was a happy blur: Gryffindors running to lift him on to their shoulders; Ron and Hermione in the distance, jumping up and down, Ron cheering through a heavy nosebleed.**_

"That must have been a good fight," commented Sirius, smiling.

_**Harry had reached the shed. He leaned against the wooden door and looked up at Hogwarts, with its windows glo wing red in the setting sun. Gryffindor in the lead. He'd done it, he'd shown Snape ... And speaking of Snape ...**_

"What have I done now, if I may ask?" Severus asked annoyed.

_**A hooded figure came sw iftly down the front steps of the castle.**_

_**Clearly not wanting to be seen, it walked as fast as possible towards the Forbidden Forest.**_

"Why are you going there?"

"Don't know, I usually only go out there for the Thestrals." He said and the others stared at him wide eyed.

_**Harry's victory faded from his mind as he watched. He recognised the figure's prowling walk.**_

_**Snape was sneaking into the Forest while everyone else was at dinner - what was going on? Harry jumped back on his Nimbus Two Thousand and took off.**_

_**Gliding silently over the castle he saw Snape enter the Forest at a run. He followed.**_

Everyone was looking at the book with great excitement.

_**The trees were so thick he couldn't see where Snape had gone. He flew in circles, lower and lower, brushing the top branches of trees until he heard voices. He glided towards them and landed noislessly in a towering beech tree. He climbed carefully along one of the branches, holding tight to his broomstick, trying to see through the leaves.**_

_**Below, in a shadowy clearing, stood Snape, but he wasn't alone. Quirrell was there, too.**_

"Why is Quirrell there?" asked Remus, looking very suspicious.

_**Harry couldn't make out the look on his face, but he was stuttering worse than ever. Harry strained to catch what they were saying.  
"... d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus ..."**_

_**"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," said Snape, his voice icy. "Students aren't supposed to know about the Philosopher's Stone after all."**_

_**Harry leant forward. Quirrell was mumbling something. Snape interrupted him.**_

_**"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"**_

Everyone looked at the book with increasing interest, no one wanted to comment at the moment.

_**"B-b-but Severus, I -"**_

_**"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," said Snape, taking a step towards him.**_

"Oh yes, you really have something sadistic on you." James commented.

"You should know."

_**"I-I don-t know what you -"**_

_**"You know perfectly well what I mean."**_

_**An owl hooted loudly and Harry nearly fell out of the tree. He steadied himself in time to hear Snape say, "- your little bit of hocus pocus. I'm waiting."**_

Everyone raised one eyebrow in confusion at that.

_**"B-but I d-d-don't -"  
"Very well," Snape cut in.**_

_**We'll have another little chat soon,**_

_**when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."**_

"What does that mean?"

"Don't know."

_**He threw the cloak over his head and strode out of the clearing. It was almost dark now, but Harry could see Quirrell, standing quite still as though he was pertrfied.**_

"What a wimp, even thought you have some really frightening death glare there Severus!" said James.

"Thanks."

_**"Harry, where have you been?" Hermione squeaked.  
"We won! You won! We won!" shouted Ron, thumping Harry on the back. "And I gave Malfoy a black eye and Neville tried to take on Crabbe and Goyle single-handed!**_

"My baby." Said Narcissa, Molly and Alice in union.

_**He's still out cold but Madam Pomfrey says he'll be all right - talk about showing Slytherin!**_

"Good," said Lily, relieved.

_**Everyone's waiting for you in the common room, we're having a party, Fred and George stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens."**_

"They're so like us," said Sirius, sighing happily.

_**"Never mind that now," said Harry breathlessly. "Let's find an empty room, you wait 'til you hear this ..."  
He made sure Peeves wasn't inside before shutting the door behind them, then he told them what he'd seen and heard.**_

_**"So we were right, it is the Philosopher's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it.**_

"Sorry Harry, I hate to disapoint you, but uhm…Severus wouldn't need Quirrell's help." Remus pointed out.

_**He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy - and he said something about Quirrell's 'hocus pocus' - I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy,**_

"The other things guarding the stone must be horrible too!" squeaked Peter, shuddering.

_**loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell which Snape needs to break through -"**_

_**"So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" said Hermione in alarm.**_

_**"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," said Ron.**_

Everyone started laughing at this.

"So guys who is next?" Frank asked.

"Me again." Remus said smiling as he grabbed the book, but paled imediately when he read the next title.

_To be continued… _

* * *

A/N: so guys we are soon nearing the end of this fic…_**  
**_


	15. Please don't tell me

XV. Please don't tell me…_Norbert The __Norwegian Ridgeback _

* * *

"Moony, what is wrong?" Sirius asked his friend.

"…"

"Let me look at that title. Please Merlin let it not concern me." Severus whined as he leaned over the sandy haired teen's shoulder, peering down at the book. "Ugh…guys I think most of you won't like this…"

"Spill it already." James said.

"Ugh…the title is; _**Norbert The **__**Norwegian Ridgeback**_." He read out-laud, the others gasping in shock.

"Y…you do…don't think that…" Alice stammered.

"Wicked."

"Sirius this isn't something to be excited about." Narcissa growled.

"It is, Hagrid got a dragon." He stated grinning.

"No it is not."

"It is."

"It is not."

"It is."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"NO!"

"YES!"

"Isn't that one of those dragon types who have poisoned fangs?" at that stared everyone wide eyed at Lucius.

"MY BABY!!" the girls screamed and the boys glared at the blond.

"Great job Malfoy." James growled.

"Sorry that I can speak Potter…"

"Remus, I think you should start reading now." Severus suggested, the other nodded reluctantly.

_**Quirrell, however, must have been braver than they'd though. In the weeks that followed he did seem to be getting paler and thinner, but it didn't look as though he'd cracked yet.**_

"Wow, he will improve a bit thought." Lucius said in a confused tone.

"Yes, he usually covers from everyone even if some of us say '_hy'_." Severus pointed out as he sat back down again beside Lucius.

"And such a whimp was put in to Slytherin? Ok that setles it the Marauders will help figuring out how that guy managed to get inside Slytherin." Sirius pointed out.

"Ok after finishing the book we will arrange a House Meeting and tell the others." Lucius said as he turned to his two fellow Slytherin who nodded at him.

_**Every time they passed the third-floor corridor, Harry, Ron and Hermione would press their ears to the door to check that Fluffy was still growling inside. Snape was sweeping around in his usual bad temper, which surely meant that the Stone was still safe.**_

"Well his foul mode can lye also in other directions." Remus pointed out and threw a quick side glance at the duo in dresses.

_**Whenever Harry passed Quirrell these days he gave him an encouraging sort of smile, and Ron started telling people off for laughing at Quirrell's stutter.**_

"Well, at least that is a nice thing to do." Lily said.

_**Hermione, however, had more on her mind than the Philosopher's Stone. She had started drawing up revision timetables and colour-coding all her notes. Harry and Ron wouldn't have minded, but she kept nagging them to do the same.**_

"Moony does tha same with us." Sirius said.

"Yes, it is fun threatening them in to learning." Remus said grinning.

_**"Hermione, the exams are ages away."  
"Ten weeks," Hermione snapped. "That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicolas Flamel."**_

"That is true, but you are only eleven."

_"__**But we're not six hundred years old," Ron reminded her.**_

_**"Anyway, what are you revising for, you already know it all."**_

_**"What am I revising for? Are you mad?**_

"They're not," said Sirius. "But you happen to be, Hermione."

_**You realise we need to pass these exams to get into second year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's got into me ..."**_

"Okey…even Remus isn't that fanatic." James said.

"The same goes for Lily." Alice pointed out.

"Even Sev isn't that fanatic and that guy storms since year one nearly a month after the staqrt of the exams in my doorminity drags me down to the common room so that we start studying at bloody four in the morning." Lucius said as everyone stared wide eyed at the fuming blond and the blushing blackhead.

"Moony, I love you…"

"Padfoot we already settled that I also really like you, but NOT in THAT way."

"I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT!"

_**Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione.**_

"They always do…" James groaned.

_**They piled so much homework on them that the Easter holidays weren't nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones.**_

"Wait till O.W.L.'s…" Lucius groaned.

_**It was herd to relax with Hermione next to you reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood or practicing wand movements. Moaning and yawning, Harry and Ron spent most of their free time in the library with her to get through all their extra homework.**_

_**"I'll never remember this," Ron burst out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window. It was the first really fine day they'd had in months. The sky was clear, forget-me-not blue and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming.**_

_**Harry, who was looking up 'Dittany' in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, didn't look up until he heard Ron say, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"**_

"What is Hagrid doing in the library?" asked Lily.

"Does he even fit in there?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Narcissa said.

_**Hagid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back. He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.**_

_**"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once.**_

"Not very good at lying, is he?" asked Remus.

"He will never be." James said.

_**"An' hat're you lot up ter?" He looked suddenly suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"**_

"They already figured him out!" said Sirius.

_**"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," said Ron impressively. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Philosopher's St-"**_

_**"Shhhh!" Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"**_

_**"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," said Harry, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy -"**_

_**"SHHHH!" said Hagrid again. "Listen - come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind,**_

"Yeah, right," said Sirius.

_**but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've old yeh -"**_

_**"See you later, then," said Harry.  
Hagrid shuffled off.**_

_**"What was he hiding behind his back?" said Hermione thoughtfully.**_

_**"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?"**_

_**"I'm going to see what section he was in," said Ron, who'd had enough of working.**_

"Not the studious type eh?" Sirius asked grinning, but immediately stopped hen he saw Molly's death glare directed at him.

_**He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down on the table.**_

_**"Dragons!" he whispered. "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Irealnd; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide."**_

"Uh oh," said Peter.

"Not good…"

"We agree…"

_**"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him," said Harry.**_

_**"But it's against our laws," said Ron. "Dragon-breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that.**_

"To bad actually." Sirius said as he was wacked ower the head by his cousin. "Ouch…Cissa what was that for?" he asked while rubbing his aching head.

"You deserved that." She said.

_**It's hard to stop Muggles noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden**_

"That would be great." Sirius said as he dodged one other wack running for his live, Narcissa after him.

"Remus continue." Alice said while the two cousins run in circles around them.

"Uhm…ok…"

**- anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania."**

**"But there aren't wild dragons in Britain?" said Harry.**

"Yes, the Common Welsh Green and the Hidridean Black," said Remus.

_**"Of course there are," said ron. "Common Welsh Green and Hedridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our lot have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."**_

_**"So what on earth's Hagrid up to?" said Hermione.**_

_**When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut an hour later, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed.**_

"Oh, Merlin, it can't be!' exclaimed Sirius sounding extited while still running.

_**Hagrid called, "Who is it?" before he let them in and then shut the door quickly behind them.  
It was stiflingly hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate.**_

"Oh no…" Lily exclaimed.

"Please don't tell me…"

"I fear yes…"

"No, no, no, no, no…."

"Isn't the hut out of wood?" Peter asked.

"…"

_**Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused.**_

"Smart idea," said Lily. "They're horrible."

_**"So - yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"**_

_**"Yes," said Harry. there was no point in beating about the bush. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the philosopher's Stone apart from Fluffy."**_

_**Hagrid frowned at him.  
"O' course I can't," he said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn't tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts - I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know about Fluffy."**_

"They didn't plan meting him…" Arthur said, the others nodded.

_**"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here," said Hermione in a warm, flattering voice.**_

"Ooohhh…sneaky the god old flattering technique, it never frails." James said while grinning smugly.

"And you happen to know that why?" Severus asked with a raised brow.

"What do you think how Sirius survives Herbology?" James asked and Severus remembered al the times when Sirius was strangled, attacked or nearly eaten by the plants with which they were working in class.

"So that is how he does it?" he asked shocked.

"Yep." Come James's reply.

Meanwhile sat two rather exhausted cousins down by the others.

_**Hagrid's beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling. "We only wondered who had done the guarding, really," Hermione went on. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."**_

"She is god…" James pointed out.

_**Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words. Harry and Ron beamed at Hermione.**_

_**"Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that ... let's see ... he borrowed Fluffy from me ... then some o' the teachers did enchantments ... Professor Sprout - Professor Flitwick - Professor McGonagall -" he ticked them off on his fingers. "Professor Quirrell - an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."**_

At that looked everyone at Snape.

"Me? I wonder what sort of protection I made." He said.

"Hmm…well listening about who put up a protection I would say Dumbledore, McGonagall and you were the ones who made the strongest protections." Remus said.

"Thanks."

"Your welcome."

_**"Snape?"**_

"Such a lovely reaction, I'm touched." Severus said sarcastically.

_**"Yeah - yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."**_

_**Harry knew Ron and Hermione were thinking the same thing as he was. If Snape had been in on protecting the Stone, it must have been easy to find out how the other teachers had guarded it. He probably knew everything - except, it seemed, Quirrell's spell and how to get past Fluffy.**_

_**"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you, Hagrid?" said Harry anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"**_

_**"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly.**_

"And it better stay that way," said Remus firmly.

"Why do I doubt that…" muttered Snape.

_**"Well, that's something," Harry muttered to the others. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."  
"Can't, Harry, sorry," said Hagrid. Harry notice him glance at the fire. Harry looked at it too.**_

"Oh no…"

_**"Hagrid - what's that?"  
But he already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge, black egg.**_

Everyone groaned.

"Rubeus Hagrid how can someone be so unresponsible…" Molly growled and Arthur backede away with the others.

_**"Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard. "That's - er ..."**_

"A dragon egg," finished James, shaking his head.

_**"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Ron, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "It must've cost you a fortune."**_

_**"Won it," said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the villiage havin' a few drinks an' got into a game of cards with a stranger.**_

"Who would go around carrying a dragon egg?' asked Remus, looking suspicious, the others had als9o a strange feeling about the case.

_**Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."**_

"Anyone would be glad to get rid of it!' screeched Lily.

"But it is really suspicious."

_**"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Hermione.  
"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow.**_

_**"Got this outta the library - Dragon-Breeding for Pleasure and Profit - it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here.**_

"It's out of date because it's illegal!" shouted a very hysterical Lily while hugging a shaking Alice.

_**Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour.**_

"WHAT!"

"Can dragon take alcohol?" Peter asked the others confused.

"Uhm…don't know…"

_**An' see here - how ter recognise diff'rent eggs - what I got there's a Norwegian Ridegback. They're rare, them."**_

"BUT IT IS STILL A DRAGON!!" screeched Molly.

_**He looked very pleased with himself, but Hermione didn't.  
"Hagrid, you live in a wooden house," she said.**_

"Exactly!' exclaimed Lily. "That's what I said!"

_**But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming merrily as he stoked the fire.**_

"Stop ignoring them!"

_**So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut.**_

"Which is bound to happen," muttered James.

"Mostly if you consider the fact that they grow really fast." Lucius pointed out.

"Yes you should really know about that."

"What are you playing at Potter."

"Well, I wasn't the one naming m,y son Dragon and you know that his name translatedc gives strangely the sentence '_Dragon Bad Faith'_?" James asked ande Lucius started pouting.

"I find my son's name fitting." Narcissa said.

_**"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Ron sighed, as evening after evening they struggled though all the extra homework they were getting.**_

"That is something we would also like to know."

_**Hermione has now started making revision timetables for Harry and Ron, too. It was driving them mad.**_

_**Then, one breakfast time, Hedwig brought Harry another note from Hagrid. He had written only two words: It's hatching.**_

Everyone stared wide eyed at the bvook thinking the same; _"Bugger…"_

_**Ron wanted to skip Herbology and go straight down to the hut. Hermione wouldn't hear of it.  
"Hermione, how many times are we going to see a dragon hatching?"**_

"Well, it would be more interesting," said Sirius.

"Lucius…" Remus said suddenly and said blond imediatly grabbed his list which was almost full.

_**"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing -"  
"Shut up!" Harry whispered.  
Malfoy was only a few feet away and he had stopped dead to listen.**_

_**How much had he heard?**_

"If he is as good as me then the whole thing." Lucius said as he conjucted a second parchment.

_**Harry didn't like the look on Malfoy's face at all.**_

"Yep, he is as good as me."

_**Ron and Hermione argued all the way down to Herbology, and in the end, Hermione agreed to run down to Hagrid's with the other two during morning break. When the bell sounded from the castle the the end of their lesson, the three of them dropped their trowels at once and hurried through the grounds to the edge of the Forest.**_

_**Hagrid greeted them looking flushed and excited.  
"It's nearly out." He ushered them inside.**_

_**The egg was lying on the table. There were deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it.  
They all drew their chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath.**_

The others looked at the book with they breaths held back.

_**All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. Tha baby dragon flopped down on to the table. It wasn't exactly pretty; Harry thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body and it had a long snout with wide nostrils, stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.**_

"Uhm…it is there…"

_**It sneezed a couple of sparks flew out of its snout. **_

"How promissing…"

_**"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmered. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.**_

_**"Bless him, look, he knows his mummy!" said Hagrid.**_

"Remus, would you care to read that sentence again…" Lucius said and the other did so.

"Hagrid fully lost it…"

"And really bad…"

_**"Hagrid," said Hermione, "how fast do Norwegian ridgebacks grow, exactly?"**__  
__**Hagrid was about to answer when the colour suddenly drained from his face - he leapt to his feet and ran to the window**_**.**

"Why do I have the strange feeling that this is my cue to start my second list." Lucius groaned.

_**"What's the matter?"**_

_**"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains - it's a kid - he's runnin' back up ter the school."  
Harry bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a distance there was no mistaking him.  
Malfoy had seen the dragon.**_

"Damn!" swore James.

"I was right…"

_**Something about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made Harry, Ron and Hermione very nervous. They spent most of their free time in Hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.**_

"Good luck with that."

_**"Just let him go," Harry urged. "Set him free."  
"I can't," said Hagrid. "He's too little. He'd die."**_

_**They looked at the dragon. It had grown three times in length in just a week. Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils.**_

"And Hagrid thinks it's cute!" exclaimed Remus.

"Well, it could look cute." At that stared the Gryffindors shocked at Severus. "What?"

"You think dragons are cute?" Alice asked shocked.

"Yep, he also has the same option about Thestrals, Chimeras, Sphinx, Leviathans, Manticores, Basilisks, Hydras and Warewolves." Lucius said.

At that threw Sirius, James and Peter a side glance at a furiously blushing Remus Lupin. Ok his friends told him that his wolf form looked ok, but that someone thought that it looked '_cute' _was shocking.

"Can w please stop this conversation and read the book!" Severus whined in panic while blushing like Hell at the thought that Remus knew that he found werewolves cute.

"I…I agree…" he stammered.

_**Hagrid hadn't been doing his gamekeeping duties because the dragon was keeping him so busy. There were empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers all over the floor.**_

_**"I've decided to call him Norbert," said Hagrid, looking at the dragon with misty eyes.**_

"Well atleast it sounds better then what he named that Cerberus." James said.

_**"He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mummy?"**_

"Ugh!' said Lily.

"He is overdoing it…"

_**"He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered in Harry's ear.**_

_**"Hagrid," said Harry loudly, "give it a fortnight and Norbet's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment."**_

_**Hagrid bit his lip.  
"I - I know I can't keep him for ever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."  
Harry suddenly turned to Ron.  
"Charlie," he said.  
"You're losing it, too," said Ron. "I'm Ron, remember?"**_

Everyone burst out into nervous laughter.

_**"No - Charlie - your brother Charlie. in Romania. Studying dragons. We could sent Norbet to him. Charlie can take care of him and then pout him back in the wild!"**_

"Good thinkingt son."

_**"Brilliant!" said Ron. "How about it, Hagrid?"  
And in the end, Hagrid agreed that they could owl to Charlie to ask him.**_

_**The following week dragged by. Wednesday night found Hermione and Harry sitting alone in the common room, long after everyone else had gone to bed. the clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open. Ron appeared out of nowhere as he pulled off Harry's Invisibility Cloak. He had been down to Hagrid's hut, helping him feed Norbet, who was now eating dead rats by the crate.**_

At that Peter let out a horrorfied squeak and fainted.

"I think this was to much for his nerves…" James commented.

"We should wake him."

"Ok." And so they spent twenty minutes in trying to wake him up.

"So we can continue."

_**"It bit me!" he said, showing them his hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief.**_

"WHAT!!" screamed both Molly and Arthur in panic and anger.

_**"I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit.**_

"My poor baby…"

_**When it bit me he told me off for frightening it.**_

"HE DID WHAT!" Molly roared in anger.

_**And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby."**_

"Yep, he gones nutters!' said James.

_**There was a tap on the dark window.  
"It's Hedwig!" said Harry, hurrying to let her in. "She'll have Charlie's answer!"**_

"Thank Merlin!" everyone muttered.

_**The three of them put their heads together to read the note.**_

_**Dear Ron,  
How are you?**_

_**Thanks for the letter - I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some fiends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they musn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon.  
Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark.  
Send me an answer as soon as possible.  
Love,  
Charlie**_

"Aww…that was a letter from my second oldest." Molly cooed.

_**They looked at each other.  
"We've got the Invisibility Cloak," said Harry. "It shouldn't be too difficult - I think the Cloak's big enough to cover two of us and Norbet."**_

_**It was a mark of how bad the last week had been that the other two agreed with him. Anything to get rid of Norbet - and Malfoy.**_

_**There was a hitch.**_

"There always is one," muttered Peter.

_**By next morning, Ron's bitten hand had swollen to twice its usual size. He didn't know whether it was safe to go to Madam Pomfrey - would she recognise a dragon bite?**_

"Could be, but she is nice." Remus said, it was usualy the healer who brought him down to the Shreaking Sack and brought him back 9on the next morning, she was something like a carring mother to the students and to him to.

_**By the afternoon, though, he had no choice. The cut had turned a nasty shade of green. It looked as if Norbet's fangs were poisonous.**_

"Oh yes, they are." Lucius said while Molly started trembling in worry and Arthur looked also pale.

_**Harry and Hermione rushed to the hospital wing at the end of the day to find Ron in a terrible state in bed.  
"It's not just my hand," he whispered, "although that feels like it's about to fall off.**_

_**Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me - I've told her it was a dog but I don't think she believes me -**_

_**I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this."**_

_**Harry and Hermione tried to calm Ron down.  
"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," said Hermione, but this didn't soothe Ron at all.**_

_**On the contrary, he sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat.**_

_**"Midnight on Saturday!" he said in a hoarse voice. "Oh no - oh no - I've just remembered - Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert."**_

"Oh great," groaned Lily.

_**Harry and Hermione didn't get a chance to answer. Madam Pomfrey came over at that moment and made them leave, saying Ron needed sleep.**_

"She always does that," said James.

"And she is always right in such things." Remus pointed out.

_**"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry told Hermione. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it. And we have got the Invisibility Cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that."**_

_**They found Fang the boarhound sitting outside with a bandaged tail when they went to tell Hagrid, who opened a window to talk to them.**_

_**"I won't let you in," he puffed. "Norbert's at a tricky stage - nothin' I can't handle."**_

"Yeah right," said Remus. "At least he isn't letting Hermione and Harry inside."

_**When they told him about Charlie's letter, his eyes filled with tears, although that might have been because Norbert had just bitten him on the leg.**_

_**"Aargh! It's all right, he only got my boot - jus' playin' - he's only a baby, after all."**_

"A rather dangerous baby if you ask me."

_**The baby banged its tail on the wall, making the windows rattle. Harry and Hermione walked back to the castle, feeling Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.**_

_**They would have felt sorry for hagrid when the time came for him to say goodbye to Norbert if they hadn't been so worried about what they had to do. It was a very dark, cloudy night and they were a bit late arriving at Hagrid's hut because they had to wait for Peeves to get out of their way in the Entrance Hall, where he'd been playing tennis against that wall.**_

_**Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.  
"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," said Hagrid in a muffled voice. "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."**_

"I will not comment on that one…"

"That will be an extremly short lived teddy."

_**From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to Harry as though teddy was having his head torn off.**_

"Knew it!' said Sirius.

_**"Bye-bye, Norbet!" Hagrid sobbed, as Harry and Hermione covered the crate with the Invisibility Cloak and stepped underneath it themselves. "Mummy will never forget you!"**_

The whole group loked sick.

"Moony continue quick before the carpet gets soiled…"

_**How they managed to get the crate back up to the castle, they never knew. Midnight ticked nearer and nearer as they heaved Norbet up the marble staircase, then another - even one of Harry's short cuts didn't make the work much easier.**_

"Wow he knows some of the sort cuts?" James asked stunned.

_**"Nearly there!" Harry panted as they reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.  
Then a sudden movement ahead of them made them almost drop the crate.**_

At that stared everyone at the book, waiting anoxiously for Remus to continue.

_**Forgetting thay they were already invisible, they shrank into the shadows, staring at the two outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared.  
Professor McGonagall,**_

"Not good," muttered James.

_**in a tartan dressing-gown and a hairnet,**__**had Malfoy by the ear.**_

At that tried both James and Sirius to hold back they laughter, even Frank cowered his mouth with his hands while the three Slytherin shook they heads in mock sorow.

"He perfectly managed to get caught…" Lucius said.

_**"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you -"**_

"_**You don't understand, Professor, Harry Potter's coming - he's got a dragon!"**_

"She will never believe that story Draco…" Narcissa said sighing.

_**"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on - I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"**_

"Uhm…now that will be a nice little night time chat…" Severus said, not that he would have a problem with talking to the Transfigurations Mistress, but not combined with such a situation, that would be a long night for them int he future.

_**The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that. Not until they'd stepped out into the cold night air did they throw off the Cloak, glad to be able to breathe properly again. Hermione did a sort of jig.**_

_**"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!"  
"Don't," Harry advised her.**_

_**Chuckling about Malfoy, they waited. Norbet thrashing about in his crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.**_

_**Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. They showed Harry and Hermione the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them.**_

"It is god to know that he has god friends." Molly said.

_**They all helped buckle Norbet safely into it and then Harry and Hermione shook hands with the others and thanked them very much.**_

_**At last, Norbet was going ... going ... gone.**_

"YES!" cheered everyone.

_**They slipped back down the spiral staircase, their hearts as light as their hands, now that Norbert was off them.**_

"Are they still wearing the cloak?" asked Lily, looking worried, the others paling.

_**No more dragon - Malfoy in detention - what could spoil their happiness?**_

"Ugh…that was a bad idea to say…"

_**The answer to that was waiting for them at the foot of the stairs.**_

"I knew it…" James groaned.

_**As they stepped into the corridor, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.**_

Everyone started cursing under they breaths.

_**"Well, well, well," he whispered, "we are in trouble."  
They'd left the Invisibility Cloak on top of the tower.**_

Everyone groaned at that.

"So, who wants to read next?" Remus asked.

"Me." Lucius said.

_To be continued…_


	16. Oh no

XVI. Oh no, _The __Forbidden __Forest_

* * *

Looking down at the title the blond Slytherin paled, but is suddenly turned to panicked anger.

"I dearly hope that THIS doesn't have ANYTHING to do WITH the detention!" he yelled and everyone paled.

"Lucius…" Narcissa asked the other, but was ignored.

"I will NOT allow THIS!"

"Do you think he will calm down eventually to start reading before the next Millennium?" Sirius asked and Severus sighed as he stood up with a determined look on his face.

"Leave it to me." He said as he walked over to his friend, clearing his throat. "Good afternoon Mr. Malfoy Senior." He said suddenly in a formal voice as he bowed, this seemed to bring Lucius out of his rant.

"GRANDFATHER WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" the blond roared while jumping up and looking around for any sign of his grandfather.

"Told you that I can bring him back." Severus said nonchalantly as he walked past the gapping lions and sat down.

"Sev, you know that I hate it if you do that…" Lucius whined, but sat down and picked the book up to start reading.

"I know, but it works so what freaked you out?"

"The chapter title…" he said.

"What is the title?" Alice asked, feeling worried.

"_**The Forbidden Forest**_…" he said sighing while the others gasped in panic.

"Please don't tell me that our babies…" Lily gasped as she clung to James's arm.

"I fear that we now know what the detention will be about…" Remus said.

"Is it only me or since the Quidditch chapter are the titles getting worse?" Arthur asked.

"No, we also noticed…" Narcissa said.

"Lucius please start reading."

"Ok." He said. _'Please sweet Merlin let nothing happen to my son. I know he is acting there like a git, but please he is still my blood…' _he thought with panic, he could never live with the thought of loosing the five ones who he considered truly dear to him and that were really not all to many if he was honest with himself. To be fully correct he cared only about Narcissa and Severus, but soon he would have also a son to care about and protect with all his power.

_**Things**__**couldn't**__** have **__**been**__**worse**__**. **_

Everyone groaned at this.

_**Filch**__**took**__** them **__**down**__** to **__**Professor**__**McGonagall's**__**study**__** on the first floor, **__**where**__** they sat and waited without saying a **__**word**__** to each other.**_

"Well, atleast he didn't bring them to me, I fear that I would be not in a to high mode." Severus said.

"Ugh…an angry McGonagall can be really scary…" Sirius pointed out.

"You should know that." Frank said grinning.

_**Hermione was trembling. Excuses, alibis and wild cover-up stories chased each other around Harry's brain, each more feeble than the last.**_

"They will not work son." James said in a defeated tone.

"Not that Sirius over here wouldn't have tried, and failed miserably." Remus pointed out.

"Shut up…" Sirius growled while glaring at his friend.

"What sorts of excuses?" Narcissa asked curiously, she knew about the big imaginary of her cousin and knew that he would come up with some rather ridiculous ones.

"Believe me you really don't want to know." Remus said.

"Remus, you seem to forget that he is my cousin." She said grinning.

"Would you all please leave me alone already?" Sirius growled.

"No!" come it from the others.

_**He couldn't see how they were going to get out of trouble this time. They were cornered.**_

_**How could they have been so stupid as to forget the Cloak?**_

"Don't remind me…" James groaned as he laid down on his back.

_**There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept for their being out of bed and creeping around the school in the dead of night, let alone being up the tallest astronomy tower, which was out-of-bounds except for classes. **_

_**Add Norbet and the Invisibility Cloak and they might as well be packing their bags already.**_

"As long as they don't know about it, no." Sirius said grinning.

"That is true."

_**Had Harry thought that things couldn't have been worse? He was wrong.**_

"What else happened?" asked Lily, looking worried.

_**When Professor McGonagall appeared, she was leading Neville.**_

Everyone went suddenly pale.

"Why is my baby up?" Alice asked worried.

"Uhm…I really don't know Alice." Frank said.

_**"Harry!" Neville burst out, the moment he saw the other two. "I was trying to find you to warn you, I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, he said you had a drag-"**_

"Neville, baby this is not a good time to speak." Alice said as Frank groaned.

"Hey Frank, he got that one from you." James said in a defeated tone.

"I know…" Frank groaned while burying his face in his hands.

_**Harry shook his head violently to shut Neville up, but Professor McGonagall had seen.**_

Everyone swallowed hard.

"Not god…"

"I agree…"

_**She looked more likely to breathe fire than Norbert as she towered over the three of them.**_

"Ugh…I think if it would be possible she would." James pointed out, the others nodding in agreement while shuddering at the image of a really mad and fire breathing McGonagall.

"That would be scary…" Peter squeaked.

"We agree Wormi."

_**"I would never have believed it of any of you.**_

"She's given up saying that to us," commented Sirius.

"Which is not a big wonder considering that she got tired from teling you this ten times a week." Lucius said while recalling a five of the Perfect's meetings with the Heads of Houses."

_**Mr Filch says you were up the astronomy tower. Its one o'clock in the morning. Explain yourselves."**_

"And this is the part when Sirius would try to feed her something rather dumb." Remus pointed out while said blackhead glared at him.

_**It was the first time Hermione had ever failed to answer a teacher's question. She was staring at her slippers, as still as a statue.**_

_**"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," said Professor McGonagall.**_

Everyone stared panicked at the book in Lucius's hands, said blond also looked slightly panicked.

"Please don't tell me she knows…"

"This is not good."

"Hagrid will be skinned alive by her…"

_**"It doesn't take a genius to work it out.**_

"No, no, no, no…."

"Quick try to convince her that she fell asleep on her desk an that she is only dreaming!" at that turned everyone to Sirius, staring oddly at him.

"In such cases I'm wondering if one of us got adopted or aunt Walburga or uncle Orion dropped him on the head." Narcissa said.

"I see, well now atleast you heard is favorite excuse when we should get caught by night." Remus pointed out.

"Doesn't work to much." Severus said while turning to Remus who shook his head.

"It only gets her angrier."

_**You fed Draco Malfoy some -and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught him**__._

_**I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom here heard the story and believed it, too?"**_

"Well, the positive side is that she will not murder Hagrid." James said.

_**Harry caught Neville's eye and tried to tell him without words that this wasn't true, because Neville was looking stunned and hurt. Poor, blundering Neville - Harry knew what it must have cost him to try and find them in the dark, to warn them.**_

"My baby is such a nice boy." Alice said smiling.

"Yep, but he will need improvement in sneaking around by night." Frank said.

_**"I'm disgusted," said Professor McGonagall.**_

"She's given up saying it to us as well," said James.

_**"Four students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before!**_

"Never knew that she knows how to lie." Sirius said in a stunned voice.

"Yes and four isn't to much."

"Yes last year when we sneaked out to make everything set for our Master Prank we suddenly notice you three together with Parkinson Sr., Crebbe Sr. And Goyle Sr. standin behind us." James said.

"Yes and the appeared suddenly Wood, the Bones twins, Arthur, Frank and Finnigan behind us with Narcissa's sister Bellatrix, Rudolphus, Yaxley and Dolohov rushing behind them, wands drawn." Lucius finished.

"Yes that was one hello f a fight, I really feared that McGonagall would skin us all alive." James said remembering that night.

"Yes I still wonder how we survived that."

_**You, Miss Granger, I thought you had more sense.**_

_**As for you, Mr Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this.**_

_**All three of you will receive detentions - yes, you too, Mr Longbottom, nothing gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous**_

At that everyone shared worried glances with each other.

**- and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."**

At that the Gryffindor all gasped.

_**"Fifty?" Harry gasped - they would lose the lead, the lead he'd won in the last Quidditch match.**_

"NO!" shouted James. "You never, ever question McGonagall!"

_**"Fifty points each," said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long pointed nose.**_

"NNNOOOOO!!" the Gryffindors shouted in horror.

"Looks like Slytherin's winning row will continue." Lucius pointed out as he looked at the gloomy looking lions.

_**"Professor - please -"  
"You can't-"  
"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter. Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students."**_

"Even by that fight last year did both Houses only loose hunred points…" James whined.

"But we all shut up in front of her." Remus pointed out, this was back then also the first time that he cursed his sensitive ears becouse the accustic int he Great Hall made McGonagall's even llauder then it already was.

_**A hundred and fifty points lost. That put Gryffindor in last place. In one night, they'd ruined any chance Gryffindor had had for the House Cup.**_

"NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

_**Harry felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his stomach. How could they ever make up for this?  
Harry didn't sleep all night. He could hear Neville sobbing into his pillow for what seemed like hours. Harry couldn't think of anything to say to comfort him. He knew Neville, like himself, was dreading the dawn. What would happen when the rest of Gryffindor found out what they'd done?**_

"You will find that one out int he morning, rumors travel rather quick here." James pointed out, the others nodding.

_**At first, Gryffindors passing the giant hour-glass that recorded house points next day thought there'd been a mistake. How could they suddenly have a hundred and fifty points fewer than yesterday? And then the story started to spread: Harry Potter, the famous Harry Potter, their hero of two Quidditch matches, had lost them all those points, him and a couple of other stupid first-years.**_

_**From being one of the most popular and admired people at the school, Harry was suddenly the most hated.**_

_**Even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turned on him, because everyone had been longing to see Slytherin lose the House Cup.**_

_**Everywhere Harry went, people pointed and didn't trouble to lower their voices as they insulted him. Slytherins, on the other hand, clapped as he walked past them, whistling and cheering, "Thanks Potter, we owe you one!"**_

"Well, atleast one House is in a way nice to him." Lily said and James let out a sound which reminded everyone on a wimmer.

_**Only Ron stood by him.**_

"A true mate." Said everyone at the same time.

_**"They'll all forget this in a few weeks. Fred and George have lost lloads of points in all the time they've been here, and people still like them."**_

_**"They've never lost a hundred and fifty points in one go, though, have they?" said Harry miserably.**_

_**"Well - no," Ron admitted.  
It was a bit late to repair the damage, but Harry swore to himself not to meddle in things that weren't his business from now on.**_

_**He'd had it with sneaking around and spying. He felt so ashamed of himself that he went to Wood and offered to resign the Quidditch team. **_

James was suddenly pale as a ghost while gripping his heart.

"Uhm…James…?" Sirius asked worriedly.

"My son…resign….Harry…Ouidditch…no more…seeker…resign…team…son…"

"Okey…he starts to scare me…" Frank said.

"James SNAP OUT OF IT!" Lily yelled as she slapped him hard over the face, the others winced at this.

"She has a rather hard right slap and punch." Sverus said to the others.

"Aua…Lily what the bloody hell was that for?" James asked while rubbing his accing check with Lily's hand print still glowing in a bright red color on his check.

"You are back now, Lucius continue."

"Uhm…what…er…ok…"

_**"Resign?" Wood thundered. "What good'll that do? How are we going to get any points back if we can't win at Quidditch?"  
But even Quidditch had lost its fun. The rest of the team wouldn't speak to Harry during practice, and if they had to speak about him, they called him 'the Seeker'.**_

Lily groaned. "Poor Harry."

_**Hermione and Neville were suffring too. They didn't have as bad a time as Harry, because they weren't as well known, but nobody would speak to them either. Hermione had stopped drawing attention to herself in class, keeping her head down and working in silence.**_

"My poor baby…" Alice said in a sad tone.

_**Herry was almost glad that the exams weren't far away. All the revision he had to do kept his mind off his misery. He, Ron and Hermione kept to themselves, working late into the night, trying to remember the ingredients in complicated potions, learn charms and spells off by heart, memorise the dates of magical discoveries and goblin rebellions ...**_

"Nooo….my son is learning…" James whined, but was ignored.

_**Then, about a week before the exams were due to start, Harry's new resolution not to interfere in anything that didn't concern him was put to an unexpected test.**_

"Uh, oh," said Lily, starting to bite her nails.

_**Walking back from the library on his own one afternoon, he heard somebody whimpering from a classroom up ahead.**_

"Probably Quirrell." muttered Sirius.

"Who other would it be?" Lucius asked sarcastically.

_**As he drew closer, he heard Quirrell's voice.**_

_**"No - no - not again, please-"  
It sounded as though someone was threatening him. Harry moved closer.  
"All right - all right -" he heard Quirrell sob.**_

"Hmmm…this is strange." Lucius said, face concerned.

"What is strange Lucius?" Narcissa asked worried.

"Only Ouirrell is speaking, but not the one threatening him." At that everyone exchan ged uneasy glances.

"Severus can someone threathen an other person telephatically?" James asked.

"Yes, but…HEY! I hope you are not trying to point out that it is me…" the blackhead growled dangerously.

"No, atleast I hope it for him, but- "with that threw Remus a side gloance at his friend –" it could be still you, you seem to know something about Quirrell that the others don 't."

"Hmm…I see…"

_**Next second, Quirrell came hurrying out of the classroom, straightening his turban. He was pale and looked as though he was about to cry.**_

"Whimp…" they all groaned.

_**He strode out of sight; Harry didn't think Quirrell even noticed him. He waited until Quirrell's footsteps had disappeared, then peered into the classroom. It was empty, but a door stood ajar at the other end. Harry was halfway towards it before he remembered what he'd promised himself about not meddling.**_

_**All the same, he'd have gambled twelve Philosopher's Stones that Snape had just left the room, and from what Harry had just heard, Snape would be walking with a new spring in his step - Quirrell seemed to have given in at last.**_

"I I would want informations I would use Ligilemency or Veritas serum." Severus pointed out and th other looked thoughtfull.

"That is true, they don't hand a _Potion Master_ title out to everyone." Lily pointed out.

"True, my mother told me that getting a _Master _title in Potion's is even harder then becomming an Auror." James said.

"We always knew that Sev was inteligent." Lucius said as his friend bluhed again, he was really not used to so many compliments on one day.

_**Harry went back to the library, where Hermione was testing Ron on Astronomy. Herry told them what he'd heard.  
"Snape's done it, then!" said ron. "If Quirrell's told him how to break his Anti-Dark Force spell -"**_

_**"There's still Fluffy, though," said Hermione.**_

_**"Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid," said Ron looking up at the thousands of books surrounding them. "I bet there's a book somewhere in here, telling you how to get past a three-headed dog. So what do we do, Harry?"**_

_**The light of adventure was kindling again in Ron's eyes, but Hermione answered before Harry could.**_

_**"Go to Dumbledore. That's what we should have done ages ago. If we try anything ourselves we'll be thrown out for sure."**_

_**"But we've got no proof!" said Harry. "Quirrell's too scared to back us up. Snape's only got to say he doesn't know how the troll got in at Hallowe'en and that he was nowhere near the third floor - who do you think they'll believe, him or us? Its not exactly a secret we hate him, Dumbledore'll think we made it up to get him sacked. Filch wouldn't help us if his life depended on it, he's too friendly with Snape,**_

Every gaze turned again to a now confused and pale looking Severus and Lucius had again a manecing look in his eyes to kill the caretaker if he dared to touch his friend.

"I really don't know why he likes me…" Severus said.

"Maybe he likes you becouse Mrs. Norris likes you and he doesn't want to upset her." Peter said and everyone stared shocked at him.

"Wow Peter that was really logical. Great work mate." James said while pating the blushing boy on the back.

_**and the more students get thrown out, the better, he'll think.**_

_**And don't forget, we're not supposed to know about the Stone ot Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining."  
Hermione looked convinced, but Ron didn't.**_

_**"If we just do a bit of poking around -"**_

_**"No," said Harry flatly, "we've done enough poking around."  
He pulled a map of Jupiter towards him and started to learn the names of it's moons.**_

"He's supposed to be your son!" snapped Sirius, looking exasperated.

"Sirius calm down. Harry even if I'm worried about you and I'm happy that you are studying so hard, but please you need to tell Dumbledore." Lily said in a pleading tone.

_**The following morning, notes were delivered to Harry, Hermione and Neville at the breakfast table. They were all the same:**_

_**Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr. Filch in the Entrance Hall.  
Prof, M. McGonagall**_

"Oh right, we forgot about that."

_**Harry had forgotten they still had detentions to do in the furore over the points they'd lost. He half expected Hermione to complain that this was a whole night of revision lost, but she didn't say a word. Like Harry, she felt they deserved what they got.**_

_**At eleven o'clock that night they said goodbye to Ron in the common room and went down to the entrance hall with Neville. Filch was already there -and so was Malfoy.**_

_**Harry had also forgotten that Malfoy had got a detention, too.  
"Follow me," said Filch, lighting a lamp and leading them outside. "I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he continued, leering at them.**_

_**"Oh yes ... hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me ... It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out ... hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed ... Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do."**_

_**They marched off across the grounds. Neville kept sniffing. Harry wondered what their punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so delighted.**_

"Oh no…"

"Please let nothing bad happen…"

_**The moon was bright,**_

"I hope it's not a full moon," muttered Remus.

_**but clouds scudding across it kept throwing them into darkness. Ahead, Harry could see the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. Then they heard a distant shout.**_

_**"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."**_

_**Harry's heart rose; if they were going to be working with Hagrid it wouldn't be so bad. His relief mush have shown on his face, because Filch said, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again, boy - it's into the Forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."**_

_**At this, Neville let out a little moan and Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks.**_

At that sat suddenly all girls close by each other and were hugging, all four looking scared.

_**"The forest?" he repeated, and he didn't sound quite as cool as usual. "We can't go in there at night - there's all sorts of things there - werewolves, I heard." **_

"I remember that when you once were really scarred int he dark you lso said werewolf at first when a waterdrop hit yur shoulder." Severus said grinning to the now blushing blond while the others tryed to hold back they laughter.

"Who…" he asked in a threatening woice.

"Rudolphus."

"That guy is so death when I see him again…" Lucius growled.

_**Neville clutched the sleeve of Harry's robe and made a choking noise.  
"That's your lookout, isn't it?" said Filch, his voice cracking with glee. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"**_

_**Hagrid came striding towards them out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder.**_

_**"Abou' time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Harry, Hermione?"**_

_**"I shoildn't be too friendly with them, Hagrid," said Filch coldly, "they are here to be punished, after all."**_

_**"That's why yer late, is it?" said Hagrid, frowning at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'Snot**_

"Nice one."

_**your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."**_

_**"I'll be back at dawn," said Filch, "for what's left of them," he added nastily, and he turned and started back towards the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.**_

"How promissing." Siriu said sarcastically.

_**Malfoy now turned to Hagrid.  
"I'm not going in that forest," he said, and Harry was pleased to hear the note of panic in his voice.**_

"Told you that male Malfoys are at this age pathetic."

_**"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it."**_

_**"But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do.**_

"Sev, would you please continue my list?" Lucius asked before continuing.

_**I thought we'd be writing lines or something. If my father knew I was doing this, he'd –"**_

At that stopped Lucius again with his reading and looked dumbfoulted at the book.

"Is my son actually using me as an excuse?" he asked shocked.

"Looks like it. So what would you do if you knew like now?"

"I would say that he needs to do it, but I would probably go with him." He said.

_**"- tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid growled. "Writin' lines! Wthat good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on!"**_

"I would be furryous." Lucius said.

_**Malfoy didn't move. Ho looked at Hagrid furiously but then dropped his gaze.  
"Right then," said Hagrid, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment.**_

_**He led them to the very edge of the Forest. Holding his lamp up high he pointed down a long narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the Forest.**_

_**"Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood.**_

"Unicorn blood?" exclaimed Remus increduously.

"What creature is in Merlin's name fast enough to actually catch up to an unicorn and attack it?" Severus asked shocked.

_**There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."**_

"WHAT!!" everyone screamed in horror and started looking worried.

_**"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" said Malfoy, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.**_

"Draco darling please don't say such a thing in front of your worried mother!" Narcissa shreaked in a panicked tone.

_**"There's nothin' that lives in the Forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've been staggerin' around since last night at least."**_

"D…did he just say _split up_…" Alice asked in a fear filled tone.

"HAS HE GONE MAD!" Lily screamed in panic.

_**"I want Fang," said Malfoy quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth.**_

"Sorry to crash your hopes, but as already pointe out he is a big coward." Sirius said and both Narcissa and Lucius paled so Remus needed to make them eat some chocolate befor they faint.

_**"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," said Hagrid.**_

_**"So me, Harry an' Hermione'll go one way an' Draco, Neville an' Fang'll go the other. Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right?**_

"Why green again!" Sirius whined.

"WHO CARES ABOUT THE COLOR OUR BNABIES WILL BE WALKIING ALONE WITH AN USELESS DOG IN A FOREST WHERE SOMETHING ATTACKS UNICORNS!!" shreaked both Alice and Narcissa in horror.

_**Get yer wands out an' practise now - that's it - an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh - so, be careful - let's go."**_

_**The forest was black and silent. A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth path and Harry, Hermione and Hagrid took the left path while Malfoy, Neville and Fang took the right.  
They walked in silence, their eyes on the ground.**_

_**Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver blue blood on the fallen leaves.  
Harry saw that Hagrid looked very worried.  
"Could a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Harry asked.**_

"Will you stop with the werewolf references!" snapped Remus.

"Calm down Remus, werewolfs and vampires are the first two monster tipes a person's mind comes up with if faced with something scarry." Lucius said and said boy paled.

"W…what…?" he asked in a shaking tone.

"You know the answer, Sev, Narcissa and I know, but I think you know thatz about Sev already and to be honest we find it interesting." The blond said grinning.

"You three know!" James yelled shocked.

"Yes and Lily knows to."

"What do they know?" Frank asked as he Alice, Molly and Arthur looked confused at the others.

"Well uhm…that…that I'm a werewolf…" Remus said scared.

"Y…you are actually…" the others nodded. "Wow." Alice sid.

"You should have told us earlier this is cool." Frank said and Remus felt that he was pulled in to a tight hug.

"Remus everything is ok." Molly said.

"Yes, it is shocking when you first hear it, but we know you and know that you are a nice guy." Arthur said and Remus felt rather relieved to know that he had more friends who understood him then he had thought.

"I will continue now."

_**"Not fast enough," said Hagrid. "It's not easy ter catch a unicorn, they're powerful magic creatures. I never knew one ter be hurt before."**_

"Not good," said Sirius, frowning.

_**They walked past a mossy tree-stump. Harry could hear running water; there must be a stream close by. There were still spots of unicorn blood here and there along the winding path.  
"You all right, Hermione?" Hagrid whispered. "Don' worry, it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt an' then we'll be able ter - GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"**_

Everyone paled aqnd stared wide eyed at the book.

_**Hagrid seized Harry and Hermione and hoisted them off the path behind a towering oak. he pulled out an arrow and fitted it into his crossbow, raising it, ready to fire. The three of them listened. Something was slithering over dead leaves nearby; it sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground.**_

_**Hagris was squinting up that dark path, but after a few seconds, the sound faded away.**_

"W…eha…what do y…you think wha…what it was…?" Peter asked in a frightened voice.

"I realy don't know."

_**"I knew it," he murmered. "There's summat in here that shouldn't be."  
"A werewolf?" Harry suggested.**_

"Enough with the werewolves!" snapped Remus, looking sour.

_**"That wasn' no werewolf an' it wasn' no unicorn, neither," said Hagrid grimly. "Right, follow me, but careful, now."**_

_**They walked more slowly, ears straining for the faintest sound. Suddenly, in a clearing ahead, something definitely moved.**_

Everyone let out a frightened yelp.

_**"Who's there?" Hagrid called. "Show yerself - I'm armed!"**_

_**And into the clearing came - was it a man, or a horse?**_

The whole group sighed in relief.

_**To the waist, a men, with red hair and beard, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail. Harry and Hermione's jaws dropped.**_

_**"Oh, it's you, Ronan," said Hagrid, patting his crossbow.**_

_**"There's summat bad loose in this Forest. This is harry Potter an' Hermione Granger, by the way. Students up at the school. An' this is Ronan, you two. He's a centaur."**_

_**"We'd noticed," said Hermione faintly.**_

_**"Good evening," said ronan. "Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?"**_

_**"Erm-"**_

_**"A bit," said Hermione tmidly.**_

_**"A bit. Well, that's something." Ronan sighed. He flung back his head and stared at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight."**_

_**"Yeah," said hagrid glancing up too. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inter teh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt - you seen anythin'?**_

_**Ronan didn't answer immediately. He stared unblinkingly upwards, then sighed again.  
"Always the innocent are the first victims," he said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."**_

_**"Yeah," said Hagrid, "but have yeh seen anythin', Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"  
"Mars is bright tonight," Ronan repeated while Hagrid watched him impatiently. "Unusually bright."**_

"We know!" snapped Remus impatiently. "It doesn't matter, unless there's going to be a war."

Suddenly everyon looked at each other with an uneasy feeling.

Could this be a sign for an upcomming war…?

_**"Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home," said Hagrid. "So yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange?"**_

_**Yet again, Ronan took a while to answer. At last, he said, "The Forest hides many secrets."**_

_**A movement in the trees behind Ronan made Hagrid raise his bow again, but it was only a second centaur, black-haired and - bodied and wilder looking than Ronan.**_

_**"Hullo, Bane," said Hagrid. "All right?"**_

_**"Good evening, Hagrid, I hope you are well?"**_

_**"Well enough. Look, I've jus' bin askin' Ronan, you seen anythin' odd in here lately? Only there's a unicorn bin injured - would yeh know anythin' about it?"**_

"Why ask another centaur?" asked Peter. "He won't tell you anything, either."

_**Bane walked over to stand next to Ronan. He looked skywards.  
"Mars is bright tonight," he said simply.**_

_**"We've heard," said Hagrid grumpily. "Well, if either of you do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then."**_

_**Harry and Hermione followed him out of the clearing, staring over their shoulders at Ronan and Bane until the trees blocked their view.**_

_**"Never," said Hagrid irritably, "try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy star-gazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon."**_

_**"Are there many of them in here?" asked Hermione.**_

_**"Oh, a fair few ... Keep themselves to themselves mostly, but they're good enough about turnin' up if I ever want a word. They're deep, mind, centaurs ... they know things ... jus' don' let on much."**_

_**"D'you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" said Harry.  
"Did that sound like hooves to you? Nah, if yeh ask me, that was what's bin killin' the unicorns - never heard anythin' like it before."**_

_**They walked on through the dense, dark trees. harry kept looking over his shoulder. He had the nasty feeling they were being watched.**_

_**He was very glad they had Hagrid and his crossbow with them. They had just passed a bend in the path when Hermione grabbed Hagrid's arm.  
"Hagrid! Look! Red sparks, the others are in trouble!"**_

"NNNOOOOO!!" screamed Alice and Narciss in union while Frank and Lucius were getting deathly pale.

"I really don't have a choose." Remus said as he let a big bowl appear and fillede it with every chocolate he had by him. "Everyone feelin g tlo panicked or near fainting take some chocolate out and eat it." He ordered the others.

"Moony…you are way to obsessed with chocolate…" Sirius said while eyeing the bowl which held so much chocolate in itt hat it would be probably enough for three weeks.

_**"You two wait here!" Hagrid shouted. "Stay on the path, I'll come back for yeh!"  
They heard him crashing away through the undergrowth and stood looking at each other, very scared, until they couldn't hear anything but the rustling of leaves around them.**_

"OW DAR HE4 LEAVE THEM ALONE!" Lily screamed as she grabbed a chocolate bar.

_**"You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" whispered Hermione.  
"I don't care if Malfoy has, but if something's got Neville ... It's our fault he's here in the first place."**_

"HEY!" bot Narcissa and Lucius said offended.

_**The minutes dragged by. Their ears seemed sharper than usual. Harry seemed to be picking up every sigh of the wind, every cracking twig. What was going on? Where were the others?**_

_**At last, a great crunching noise announced Hagrid's return. Malfoy, Neville and Fang were with him. Hagrid was funimg. Malfoy, it seemed, had sneaked up behind Neville and grabbed him for a joke. Neville had panicked and sent up the sparks.**_

"Draco…that was extremly immature…" Lucius groaned.

_**"We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you two were makin'. Right, we're changin' groups - Neville, you stay with me an' Hermione, Harry, you go with Fang an' this idiot.**_

"HEY, THAT IDIOT IS STILL OUR SON!"

"I think Draco's action comes also ont he list." Severus said as he wrote it down.

_**"I'm sorry," Hagrid added in a whisper to Harry, "but he'll have a harder time frightenin' you, an' we gotta get this done."  
So Harry set off into the heart of the Forest with Malfoy and Fang. They walked for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the Forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick.**_

They all shivered. Lily's other hand began cluthcing James' arm as well.

_**Harry thought the blood seemed to be getting thicker. There were splashes on the roots of a tree as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. Harry could see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.**_

"This doesn't sound good," said Lily in a worried voice.

_**"Look -" he murmered, holding out his arm to stop Malfoy.**_

_**Something bright white was gleaming on the ground. They inched closer.**_

_**It was a unicorn all right, and it was dead.**_

Everyone le out a frightened gasp.

**Harry had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. Its long slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly white on the dark leaves.**

"Poor thing," muttered James softly.

_**Harry had taken one step towards it when a slithering sound made him freeze where he stood. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered ...**_

_**Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. Harry, Malfoy and Fang stood transfixed. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, it lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood.**_

"Oh sweet Merlin…"

"GET OUT OF THERE!"

_**"AAAAAAAAAAARGH!"  
Malfoy let out a terrible scream and bolted - so did Fang.**_

"And you were once like that?" Sirius asked in a shocked tone.

"Yes."

"That is frightening."

_**The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Harry - unicorn blood was dribbling down its front.**_

"RUN, HARRY!" cried James. "GET OUT OF THERE!"

"LI9STEN TO YOUR FATHER HARRY AND RUN!" Sirius yelled.

_**It got to its feet and came swiftly towards him - he couldn't move for fear.**_

"RUN!" yelled Lily.

_**Then a pain pierced his head like he'd never felt before, it was as though his scar was on fire -**_

Everyone was now staring confused at the book.

**half-blinded, he staggered backwards. He heard hooves behind him, galloping, and something jumped clean over him, charging at the figure.**

**The pain in Harry's head was so bad he fell to his knees. it took a minute or two to pass. When he looked up, the figure had gone. A centaur was standing over him, not Ronan or Bane; this one looked younger; he had white-blonde hair and a palomino body.**

**"Are you all right?" said the centaur, pulling Harry to his feet.  
"Yes - thank you - what was that?"**

**The centaur didn't answer. He had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires. he looked carefully at Harry, his eyes lingering on the scar which stood out, livid, on Harry's forehead.**

**"You are the Potter boy," he said. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time -**

"Thank Merlin that he is safe now." Lily said in a relieved voice.

_**especially for you. Can you ride? It will be quicker this way. My name is Firenze," he added, as he lowered himself on to his front legs so that Harry could clamber on to his back.**_

"WHAT!" James yelled in shock.

"Centaurs never let someone ride on them, he will et int o big trouble…" Remus said in a worried tone.

_**There was suddenly a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Ronan and Bane came bursting through the trees, their flanks heaving and sweaty.**_

_**"Firenze!" Bane thundered. "What are you doing? You have a man on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?"**_

"No, but a really nice centaur." Lily said.

_**"Do you realise who this is?" said firenze. "This is the Potter boy. The quicker he leaves the Forest, the better."**_

_**"What have you been telling him?" growled Bane. "Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?"**_

_**Ronan pawed the ground nervously.  
"I'm sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best," he said, in his gloomy voice.**_

_**Bane kicked his legs in anger.  
"For the best! What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our Forest!"**_

_**Firenze suddenly reared on to his hind legs in anger, so that Harry had to grab his shoulders to stay on.**_

_**"Do you not see that unicorn?" Firenze bellowed at Bane. "Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I set myself against what is lurking in this Forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside me if I must."**_

"Well at least one of them's got their priorities straight!" said James.

"Yes, I'm sarting to really like this one." Sirius said.

"Yes he is ok."

_**And Firenze whisked around; with Harry clutching on as best he could, they plunged off into the trees, leaving Ronan and Bane behind them.  
Harry didn't have a clue what was going on.  
"Why's Bane so angry?" he asked. "What was that thing you saved me from, anyway?"**_

_**Firenze slowed to a walk, warned Harry to keep his head bowed in case of low-hanging branches but did not answer Harry's questions.**_

_**They made their way through the trees in silence for so long that Harry thought Firenze didn't want to talk to him any more. They were passing through a particularily dense patch of trees, however, when Firenze suddenly stopped.**_

_**"Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"**_

_"__**No," said Harry, startled by the odd question. "We've only used the horn and tail-hair in Potions."  
"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," said Firenze. "Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself and you will have but a half life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."**_

Everyone shuddered at this.

_**Harry stared at the back of Firenze's head, which was dappled silver in the moonlight.  
"But, who'd be that desperate?" he wondered aloud. "If you're going to be cursed for ever, death's better, isn't it?"  
"It is," Firenze agreed, "unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else - something that will bring you back to full strength and power - something that will mean you can never die.**_

"I'm starting to have really bad feeling about this." Severus said.

"We also."

_**Mr. Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"  
"The Philosopher's Stone! Of course - the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who -"**_

_**"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?"**_

_**It was as though an iron fist had clenched suddenly around Harry's heart. Over the rustling of the trees, he seemed to hear once more what Hagrid had told him on the night they had met: "Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die."**_

"Harry's figured it out!' exclaimed James.

_**"Do you mean," Harry croaked, "that was Vol-"  
"Harry! Harry, are you all right?"**_

_**Hermione was running towards them down the path, Hagrid puffing along behind her.  
"I'm fine," said Harry, hardly knowing what he was saying. "The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there."**_

_**"This is where I leave you," Firenze murmered as Hagrid hurried off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now."  
Harry slid off his back.**_

_**"Good luck, Harry Potter," said Firenze. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."**_

James put one arm around Lily, frowning.

"Let us hope…"

_**He turned and cantered back into the depths of the Forest, leaving Harry shivering behind him.**_

_**Ron had fallen asleep in the dark common room, waiting for them to return.**_

"How sweet of him." Lily said and Molly smiled at this.

_**He shouted something about Quidditch fouls when Harry roughly shook him awake.**_

A that everyone started laughing, something they really needed.

_**In a matter of seconds, though, he was wide-eyed as Harry began to tell him and Hermione what had happened in the Forest.  
Harry couldn't sit down. He paced up and down in front of the fire. He was still shaking.**_

"Harry, calm down!' exclaiemd Lily, concerned. "You'll make yourself ill!"

_**"Snape wants the stone for Voldemort ... and Voldemort's waiting in the Forest ... and all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich ..."**_

"Hey, why do you stilol think that I'm after the stone and why should I want to be rich?" Snape asked annoyed.

"Well…" but Sirius imediately shut up. "Eeep…never knew that you had such an impressive death glare…" he said to Severus, shivering in fear.

_**"Stop saying that name!" said Ron in a terrified whisper, as if he thought Voldemort could hear them.**_

"Calm down, Ron," said Sirius. "it's just a name."

_**Harry wasn't listening.  
"Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done ... Bane was furious ... he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen ... They must show that Voldemort's coming back ... Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me ... I suppose that's written in the stars as well."**_

_**"Will you stop saying the name!" Ron hissed.**_

_**"So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone," Harry went on feverishly, "then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off ... Well, I suppose Bane'll be happy."**_

_**Hermione looked vetry frightened, but she had a work of comfort.  
"Harry, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune telling to me, and Professor Mcgonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."**_

_**The sky had turned light before they stopped talking. They went to bed exhausted, their throats sore. But the night's surprises weren't over.**_

"Ugh…what can come now?" James asked groaning.

_**When Harry pulled back his sheets, he found his Invisibility Cloak folded neatly underneath them.**_

"Excellent!" whispered James.

"But how didi t get back?" Remus asked.

"Who cares, it is back." James said grinning.

_**There was a note pinned to it:**_

_**Just in case**_**.**

"So this was the end, who wants to go next?" Lucius asked.

"Me again." Sirius said grinning.

_To be continued…_


	17. Foolish bravery

XVII. Foolish bravery, _Through The Trapdoor _

* * *

Sirius took the book from Lucius and opened it eagerly by the next chapter.

"Ugh…Remy do you have eventually more chocolate?" he asked suddenly.

"Yes in our room, why?" he asked while the others started looking worried.

"Then please get it." with that Remus jumped up and hurried out of the room.

"Sirius what is the next title?" James asked his best friend.

"Uhm…let us wait ill Moony is back…" he said.

"Sirius what is the title…" Lily asked as he grabbed him by the front of the red dress.

"Ugh….Prongs…Severus…help please…" he pleaded in a whining tone as the two boys grabbed the redhead by the arm and sat her down again, jut in time for Remus to return with a big sack of chocolate.

"I don't even want to know where he hides all that chocolate." Lucius said shocked while eyeing the sack.

"Ok now the title is…_**Through The Trapdoor**_." He said and the whole group grabbed some chocolate, eating it hurriedly.

_**In years to come,**_

At that everyone sighed in relief.

"Harry is ok…" Lily said smiling.

_**Harry would never quite remember how he had managed to get through his exams when he half expected Voldemort to come bursting through the door at an moment. Yet the days crept by and there could be no doubt that Fluffy was still alive and well behind the locked door.**_

_**It was swelteringly hot, especially in the large classroom where they did their written exams, which had been bewitched with an Anti-Cheating spell.**_

_**They had practical exams as well.**_

"Well, of course!" said Remus.

"It is important to not only know a spell or a potion, but also the fact that you can perform or brew it in real live." Lucius pointed out.

_**Professor Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tap-dance across a desk. Professor McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuff-box - points were given for how pretty the snuff-box was, but taken away if it had whiskers.**_

_**Snape made them all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness Potion.**_

"That one is actually easy to make, even Sirius could do it." Narcissa said.

"Well it might be not that easy if I'm making them more nervous then they already are." Severus said frowning.

"That might be true…"

_**Harry did the best he could, trying to ignore the stabbing pains in his forehead which had been bothering him ever since his trip into the Forest. Neville thought Harry had a bad case of exam nerves because Harry couldn't sleep, but the truth was that Harry kept being woken by his old nightmare, except that it was now worse than ever because there was a hooded figure dripping blood in it.**_

"My poor baby…" Lily said while the others looked worried at the book.

_**Maybe it was because they hadn't seen what Harry had seen in the Forest, or because they didn't have scars burning on their foreheads, but Ron and Hermione didn't seem as worried about the Stone as Harry. The idea of Voldemort certainly scared them, but he didn't keep visiting them in dreams, and they were so busy with their revision they didn't have much time to fret about what Snape or anyone else might be up to.**_

_**Their very last exam was History of magic.**_

"Ugh…yes let the greatest one as the last." James said sarcastically.

"The class would be interesting if Bin's would do it better or they get a new teacher." Lucius commented.

_**One hour of answering questions about batty old wizards who'd invented self-stirring cauldrons and they'd be free, free for a whole wonderful week until their exam results came out.**_

"One of the best weeks of Hogwarts," said Sirius while grinning.

_**When the ghost of Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, Harry couldn't help cheering with the rest.**_

_**"That was far easier than I thought it would be," said Hermione, as they joined the crowds flocking out into the sunny grounds. "I needn't have learnt about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct**_

At that Remus glared at the book.

"Moony please calm down." James said to his friend before he tackles the book with Sirius still holding it.

_**or the uprising of Elfric the Eager.  
Hermione always liked to go through their exam papers afterwards, but Ron said this made him feel ill, so they wandered down to the lake and flopped under a tree.**_

"Those are the best places to relax." Alice said, the others nodding in approval, even the cat thought no one noticed it.

_**The Weasley twins and Lee Jordan were tickling the tentacles of a giant squid, which was basking in the warm shallows.**_

At that most of the boys laughed while Molly was frowning at the book.

_**"No more revision," Ron sighed happily, stretching out on the grass. "You could look more cheerful, Harry, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet." **_

_**Harry was rubbing his forehead.  
"I wish I knew what this means!" he burst out angrily. "My scar keeps hurting - it's happened before, but never as often as this."**_

James and Lily looked extremely worried.

_**"Go to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione suggested.**_

_**"I'm not ill," said Harry. "I think it's a warning ... it means danger's coming ..."**_

At that everyone grabbed some chocolate again and held it, just in case.

_**Ron couldn't get worked up, it was too hot. "Harry, relax, Hermione's right, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. Anyway, we've never had any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once, he's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Neville will play Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down."**_

"HEY!" yelled both Alice and Frank in anger while Molly threw a scolding look at the book.

"Uhm…yes Hagrid would never let Dumbledore down, but he is to predictable…" James said and the others looked worried.

_**Harry nodded, but he couldn't shake off a lurking feeling that there was something he'd forgotten to do, something important.**_

_**When he tried to explain this, Hermione said, "That's just the exams. I woke up last night and was halfway through my Transfiguration notes before I realised we'd done that one."**_

_**Harry was quite sure the unsettled feeling didn't have anything to do with work, though. He watched an owl flutter towards the school across the bright blue sky, a note clamped in its mouth. Hagrid was the only one who ever sent him letters.**_

"Why aren't you guys writing to him?" asked James, looking at Sirius, Remus, and Peter.

"I'm really starting to have a bad feeling about this fac." Severus said in a thoughtfull tone.

"You are not the only one."

_**Hagrid would never betray Dumbledore. Hagrid would never tell anyone how to get past Fluffy ... never ... but - Harry suddenly jumped to his feet.  
"Where're you going?" said Ron sleepily.  
"I've just thought of something," said Harry. He had gone white. "We've got to go and see Hagrid, now."  
"Why?" panted Hermione, hurrying to keep up.**_

"Yeah, why do you have to see Hagrid?" asked Sirius.

_**Don't you think it's a bit odd," said Harry, scrambling up the grassy slope, "that what Hagrid wants more than anything is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"**_

"Ugh…"

"He is right…" Remus said.

"Oh no…

"This can't mean any god." Lucius pointed out.

"Please lett he children be ok." Molly said in a frightened tone.

_**"What are you on about?" said Ron, but Harry, sprinting across the grounds towards the forest, didn't answer.**_

_**Hagrid was sitting in an armchair outside his house; his trousers and sleeves were rolled up and he was shelling peas into a large bowl.**_

_**"Hullo," he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"**_

_**"Yes, please," said Ron, but Harry cut across him.**_

_**"No, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"**_

_**"Dunno," said Hagrid casually, "he wouldn't take his cloak off."**_

"WHAT!" they all shouted.

"And that didn't made him suspicious?" Sirius asked.

"For everyone other yes, for Hagrid no." James said groaning.

_**He saw the three of them look stunned and raised his eyebrows.  
"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head - that's the pub down in the villiage.**_

"The Three Broomsticks is much better," muttered Lily.

"That is true."

_**Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he?**_

"And dragon dealers are also against the law," said Remus.

"Yes they are."

_**I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."**_

_**Harry sank down next to the bowl of peas.  
"What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"  
"Mights come up," said Hagrid, frowning as he tried to remember.**_

"In other words, yes," muttered Remus, frowing.

"Great job Hagrid."

_**"Yeah ... he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here ... he asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look after ... so I told him ... an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon ... an' then ... I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks ...**_

"Oh no…"

"What is it James?" Aice asked.

"If you get Hagrid drunk then it is like as if giving him Veritaserum." He said groaning.

"And you happen to know that why?" Lily asked.

"Erm…might have tried it out once…"

"…or twice…" Sirius said as both he and James recieved a five glares from the others.

_**Let's see ... yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted ... but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home ... so I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy ..."**_

_**"And did he - did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice calm.**_

_**"Well - yeah - how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep -"**_

"Darn it!" said Lily and suddenly was almost everyone staring at her gapping. "What?"

"Lily…you can swear…?" James asked in a shocked tone.

"Yes she can, but only rarely." Severus said and Lily gave him a thankfull smile.

_**Hagrid suddenly looked horrified.  
"I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" he blurted out. "Forget I said it!**_

"Like that'll happen," said Peter sarcastically.

_**Hey - where're yeh goin'?"**_

"What do you think?" Frank asked.

_**Harry, Ron and Hermione didn't speak to each other at all until they came to a halt in the Entrance Hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the grounds.  
"We've got to go to Dumbledore," said Harry. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy and it was either Snape or Voldemort under that cloak - it must've been easy, once he'd got Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us.**_

"He will," said Sirius. "Dumbledore'll believe anything so long as it makes sense."

"That is true."

_**Firenze might back us up if Bane doesn't stop him. Where's Dumbledore's office?"**_

_**They looked around, as if hoping to see a sign pointing them in the right direction. They had never been told where Dumbledore lived, nor did they know anyone who had been sent to see him.**_

_**"We'll just have to -" Harry began, but a voice suddenly rang across the hall.**_

_**"What are you three doing inside?"  
It was Professor McGonagall, carrying a large pile of books.**_

"Damn!' swore Sirius. "Why does McGonagall have to show up?"

"Well, let's see hmm…she is a teacher, the Deputy Headmistress, and it is shortly fter the exams. Idon't know." Severus said.

_**"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione, rather bravely, Harry thought.**_

_**"See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall repeated, as though this was a very fishy thing to want to do.**_

_**"Why?"**_

_**Harry swallowed - now what?  
"It's sort of secret," he said,**_

"No!" yelled James. "Never tell McGonagall it's a secret! She hates secrets!"

_**but he wished at once he hadn't, because Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared.**_

"Ugh…to late…"

_**"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said coldly. "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."**_

"WHAT!" they all yelled in shock.

"From all the times he could leave he needs to choose THIS time!" Lily yelled in panic.

"Does any of you also smell a distractions bait?" Lucius asked.

"This is not good, not good at all…" James said.

_**"He's gone?" said Harry frantically. "Now?"**_

_**"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizrd, Potter,**_

"That's the understatement of the year!" said Sirius.

_**he has many demands on his time -"**_

_**"But this is important."**_

_**"Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Potter?"**_

"Hmm…how about VOLDEMORT'S RETURN !" they all screamed.

_**"Look," said Harry, throwing caution to the winds,**_

_**"Professor - it's about the Philosopher's Stone -"  
Whatever Professor McGonagall had expected, it wasn't that.**_

_**The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms but she didn't pick them up.**_

Sirius and James began laughing which earned them a five glares.

_**"How do you know -?" she spluttered.**_

"She usually doesn't do that." Severus pointed out.

_**"Professor, I think - I know - that Sn - that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore."**_

_**She eyed him with a mixture of shock and suspicion.  
"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow," she said finally. "I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."**_

_**"But Professor -"  
"Potter, I know what I'm talking about," she said shortly.**_

_**She bent down and gathered up the fallen books. "I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."  
But they didn't.**_

_**"It's tonight," said Harry, once he was sure Professor McGonagall was out of earshot. "Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."**_

"I bet they will, too," muttered James bitterly.

_**"But what can we -"  
Hermione gasped. Harry and Ron wheeled round.**_

"What happened?" asked Lily worriedly.

_**Snape was standing there.**_

"You really need to tell us how you manage to appear out of nowhere." James said stunned.

_**"Good afternoon," he said smoothly.**_

"Atleast I'm not acting like a git this time." Severus said as he let his head drop.

_**They stared at him.**_

_**"You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," he said, with an odd, twisted smile.**_

_**"We were -" Harry began, without any idea what he was going to say.**_

_**"You want to be more careful," said Snape. "Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Gryffindor really can't afford to lose any more points, can they?"**_

"So much about not acting like a git." He groaned.

_**Harry flushed. They turned to go back outside, but Snape called them back.**_

_**"Be warned, Potter - any more night-time wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled.**_

_**Good day to you."**_

_**He strode off in the direction of the staff room.  
Out on the stone steps, Harry turned to the others.  
"Right, here's what we've got to do," he whispered urgently. "One of us has got to keep an eye on Snape - wait outside the staff room and follow him if he leaves it. Hermione, you'd better do that."**_

_**"Why me?"**_

"Because you can say-," and here James adopted a girly voice, "'Oh, Professor Flitwick, I think I got question five a wrong. I'm so worried that I'll fail because of it!'" The others laughed at his imitation.

_**"It's obvious," said Ron. "You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick, you know." He put on a high voice, "Oh Professor Flitwick, I'm so worried, I think I got question fourteen b wrong ..."**_

"See, I told you."

_**"Oh, shut up," aid Hermione, but she agreed to go and watch out for Snape.**_

_**"And we'd better stay outside the third-floor corrridor," Harry told Ron. "Come on."**_

_**But that part of the plan didn't work. No sooner had they reached the door separating Fluffy from the rst of the school than Professor McGonagall turned up again, and this time, she lost her temper.**_

"Drat!' said Remus, lookign annoyed.

_**"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of enchantments!" she stormed. "Enough of this nonsense! If I hear that you've come anywhere near here again, I'll take another fifty points off Gryffindor! Yes, Weasley, from my own house!"**_

"I can't believe her!' exclaimed Peter.

"Oh no…"

_**Harry and Ron went back to the common room. Harry had just said, "At least Hermione's on Snape's tail," when the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open and Hermione came in.**_

"Darn!" cursed James.

_**"I'm sorry, Harry," she wailed. "Snape came out and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was waiting for Flitwick, and Snape went to get him, and I've only just got away. I don't know where Snape went."**_

_**"Well that's it then, isn't it?" Harry said.**_

_**The other two stared at him. He was pale and his eyes were glittering.  
"I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first."**_

_**"You're mad!" said Ron.**_

_**"You can't!" said Hermione. "After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You'll be expelled!"**__._

_**"SO WHAT?" Harry shouted. "Don't you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter any more, can't you see?**_

"Please don't be like your father, please don't be like your father, please don't be like your father, please don't be like your father…" Lily started chanting while James was staring at her open mouthed, the others meanwhile were rolling ont he floor laughing.

After Sirius managed to catch his breath he continued with the reading.

_**D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the House Cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there. It's only dying a bit later than I would have done, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side!**_

"Neither are we!" stated Lily emphatically. The others all nodded firmly in agreement.

_**I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?"**_

Lily and James looked really sad. "I'm going to get the Death Eaters that betrayed you to Voldemort guys I swear," said Sirius again.

"And we will all help you with that." The others said in union so they missed Phineas and the cat exchanging sad looks.

_**He glared at them.**_

_**"You're right, Harry," said Hermione in a small voice.**_

_**"I'll use the Invisibility Cloak," said Harry. "It's just lucky I got it back."**_

_**"But will it cover all three of us?" said Ron.**_

_**"All - all three of us?"**_

_**"Oh, come off it, you don't think we'd let you go alone?"**_

"It's nice to have friends," said Remus softly, the othetrs smiling at him.

_**"Of course not," said Hermione briskly. "How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us?**_

"Well, considering all the teachers that helped guard the Stone, you'll need all the help you can get, Harry!" said James.

"That is true Harry, it will be easyer if you have friends who help you." Remus said smiling.

_**I'd better go and look through my books, there might be something useful ..."**_

_**"But if we get caught, you two will be expelled, too."**_

_**"Not if I can help it," said Hermione grimly. "Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve per cent on his exam.**_

"I can't believe it she beat me with ten points…" Lily exclaimed in a shocked voice while some of the others were gapping at her in shock.

_**They're not throwing me out after that."**_

"Makes sense," said Sirius.

_**After dinner the three of them sat nervously apart in the common room. Nobody bothered them; none of the Gryffindors had anything to say to Harry anymore, after all.**_

_**This was the first night he hadn't been uset by it. Hermione was skimming through all her notes, hoping to come across one of the enchantments they wre about to try and break. Harry and Ron didn' talk much. Both of them were thinking about what they were about to do.**_

_**Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed.**_

_**"Better get the cloak," Ron muttered, as Lee Jordan finally left, stretching and yawning. Harry ran upstairs to their dormitory. He pulled out the Cloak and then his eyes fell on the flute Hagrid had given him for Christmas. He pocketed it to use on Fluffy - he didn't feel much like singing.**_

"If you inherited your father's skill of singing then please don't sing ever in your live." Remus whined and James glared at him.

"Sorry mate, but Moony is right, the last time you sung under the shower I thought my ears were bleeding." Sirius said.

"Wait that was James singing?" Lily said suddenly in a shocked tone.

"Yes why?"

"Well we thought that someone was about to skin a defenseles animal alive from that noise." Alice said and James stared at her gapping while the others bust out laughing.

_**He ran back down to the common room.  
"We'd better put the Cloak on here, and make sure it covers all three of us - if Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own -"  
"What are you doing?" said a voice from the corner of the room.**_

_**Neville appeared from behind an armchair, clutching Trevor the toad, who looked as though he'd been making another bid for freedom.**_

"Neville baby, you should be already sleeping." Alice said.

_**"Nothing, Neville, nothing," said Harry, hurriedly putting the Cloak behind his back.  
Neville stared at their guilty faces.**_

"No, Harry!" cried James. "You have adopt innocent expressions for situations like these!"

_**"You're going out again," he said.**_

_**"No, no, no," said Hermione. "No, we're not. Why don't you go back to bed, Neville?"**_

"Not very convincing," muttered Remus.

_**Harry looked at the grandfather clock by the door. They couldn't afford to waste any more time, Snape might even now be playing Fluffy to sleep.**_

"No I'm not…"

"Do you even know how to play an instrument?" Sirius asked couriously.

"Well erm…"

"He is rather good with the violin, but my mother loves it more if he plays ont he piano, and I need to agree on that." Lucius said smiling while his friend blushed from all the atention.

"Severus, we all really need to have a rather long talk about yourself." James said.

_**"You can't go out," said Neville, "you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."**_

"Neville, son listen if the Stone gets lost you all will have bigger problems then loosing House points." Frank said.

"Neville baby go back to sleep, this is really brave that you try to protect your House, but not in such a time." Alice pleaded.

"Yes, listen to your parents." James said.

_**"You don't understand," said Harry, "this is important."  
But Neville was clearly steeling himself to do something desperate.**_

"Please don't do anything rushed."

_**"I won't let you do it," he said, hurrying to stand in front of the portrait hole. "I'll - I'll fight you!"**_

"Oh for the love of Merlin!" Sirius said while both Alice and Frank groaned, burrying they faces int o they hands.

"Well, atleast he shows that he truly belongs in Gryffindor." James said grinning, earning an other groan from the two.

"He could show that some other time thought." Severus pointed out.

_**"Neville," Ron exploded, "get away from that hole and don't be an idiot -"**_

_**"Don't you call me an idiot!" said Neville. "I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"**_

"I don't think Ron meant it like that." Lily said.

_**"Yes, but not to us," said Ron in exasperation. "Neville, you don't know what you're doing."  
He took a step forward and Neville dropped Trevor the toad, who leapt out of sight.**_

_**"Go on then, try and hit me!" said Neville, raising his fists. "I'm ready!"  
Harry turned to Hermione.**_

_**"Do something," he said desperately.  
Hermione stepped forward.  
"Neville," she said, "I'm really, really sorry about this."**_

"What will she do to my son!" Alice yelled panicked.

"Calm down, she is only a firstie." James said, but Alice nearly attacked him.

"James, that girl is no normal first year! She knows more advanced spells then we do!" Frank joined his girlfriend.

"Calm down, it will not be so bad." Sirius said.

_**She raised her wand.  
"Petrificus Totalus!" she cried, pointing it at Neville.**_

"Nice choice for a spell," said Lily.

_**Neville's arms snapped to his sides. His legs sprang together. his whole body rigid, he swayed where he stood and then fell flat on his face, stiff as a board.**_

_**Hermione ran to turn him over. Neville's jaws were jammed together so he couldn't speak. Only his eyes were moving, looking at them in horror.**_

"I painfully remember that spell and then being pushed down the hill and landing in a big mud puddle int he Forbidden Forest." Severus growled.

"Erm…eh…yes…." Sirius said.

"Don't worry Lily uhm…after that did Lucius the same spell on us and well, ehm…he threw u sin to the Perfect's bathroom with Andriga Flint and Sulina Thomas int here. Oh man never knew that a Ravenclaw could beat you up so hard." James said suddering while Lucius was grinning.

"You deserved it." He said.

_**"What've you done to him? Harry whispered.  
"It's the full Body-Bind," said Hermione miserably. "Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry."  
"We had to, Neville, no time to explain," said Harry.  
"You'll understand later, Neville," said Ron as they stepped over him and pulled on the Invisibility Cloak.**_

"My poor baby."

_**But leaving Neville lying motionless on the floor didn't feel like a very good omen. **_

"I really hope that for you lot." Frank said.

_**In their nervous state, every statue's shadow looked like Filch, every distant breath of wind sounded like Peeves swooping down on them.**_

_**At the foot of the first set of stairs, they spotted Mrs Norris skulking near the top.  
"Oh, let's kick her, just this once," Ron whispered in Harry's ear,**_

"Yes you should do it." Sirius said grinning.

_**but Harry shook his head. As they climbed carefully around her, Mrs Norris turned her lamp-like eyes on them, but didn't do anything.**_

_**They didn't meet anyone else until they reached the staircase up to the third floor. Peeves was bobbing halfway up, loosening the carpet so that people would trip.**_

_**"Who's there?" he said suddenly as they climbed towards him. he narrowed his wicked black eyes. "Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you a ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie?"**_

_**He rose up in the air and floated there, squinting at them.  
"Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen."**_

"What should they do?" Lily asked worried.

"They are clever children, they will come up with something." James said to calm her.

_**Harry had a sudden idea.  
"Peeves," he said, in a hoarse whisper, "the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible."**_

"My son is brilliant!" James yelled proudly, really impressed by his son's action.

_**Peeves almost fell out of the air in shock. He caught himself in time and hovered about a foot off the stairs.**_

_**"So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr. Baron, sir," he said greasily. "My mistake, my mistake - I didn't see you -**_

"Would have always liked to know what the Baron did to have such a control over Peeves." Lucius said.

"You are not the only one." Sirius said.

_**of course I didn't, you're invisible - forgive old Peevsie his little joke, sir."**_

_**"I have business here, Peeves," croaked Harry. "Stay away from this place tonight."**_

_**"I will, sir, I most certainly will," said Peeves, rising up in the air again. "Hope your business goes well, Baron, I'll not bother you." And he scooted off.**_

_**"Brilliant, Harry!" whispered Ron.**_

_**A few seconds later, they were there, outside the third-floor corridor - and the door was already ajar.**_

"Oh no…someone is already there…" Lily said worried.

"Children please be careful." Molly said.

_**"Well, there you are," said Harry quietly. "Snape's already got past Fluffy."  
Seeing the open door seemed to impress upon all three of them what was facing them. Underneath the Cloak, Harry turned to the other two.**_

_**"If you want to go back, I won't blame you," he said. "You can take the Cloak, I won't need it now."**_

_**"Don't be stupid," said Ron.**_

_**"We're coming," said Hermione.**_

"Yes true friends will never let you down." James said.

"Yes true friends stick to you in every sitiation not carryng for the dangers."

_**Harry pushed the door open.  
As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears. All three of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though it couldn't see them.**_

_**"What's that at its feet?" Hermione whispered.**_

_**"Looks like a harp," said Ron. "Snape must have left it there."**_

"A harp, for Merlin's shake! I would have never used a harp…" Severus growled.

"Why not?" Arthur asked.

"He hates them." Lucius explayned.

"Aha…"

_**"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," said Harry. "Well, here goes ..."**_

_**He put Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew. It wasn't really a tune, but from the first note the beast's eyes began to droop. Harry hardly drew breath. Slowly, the dog's growls ceased - it tottered on its paws and fellon its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep.**_

_**"Keep playing," Ron warned Harry as they slipped out of the Cloak and crept towards the trapdoor. They could feel the dog's hot, smelly breath as they approached the giant heads.**_

"Ugh!' they said in union.

_**"I think we'll be able to pull the door open," said Ron, peering over the dog's back. "Want to go first, Hermione?"**_

_**"No, I don't!"**_

"What a wimp!" muttered James.

"She's a bit of a wimp too," said Siirus.

_**"All right." Ron gritted his teeth and stepped carefully over the dog's legs. He bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open.**_

_**"What can you see?" Hermione said anxiously.**_

_**"Nothing - just black - there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop."**_

Lily gasped and began clutching James' arm.

_**Harry, who was still playing the flute, waved at Ron to get his attention and pointed at himself.**_

"WHAT!" yelled Lily. "HE WANTS TO GO FIRST!"

"Now we have the prof, the boy is exactly like his father." Severus said.

"NOOO!!"

"Erm…Lily…."

"What!"

"Erm…I can't feel my arm anymore."

"Sorry…"

_**"You want to go first? Are you sure?" said Ron. "I don't know how deep this thing goes. Give the flute to Hermione so she can keep him asleep."**_

_**Harry handed the flute over. In the few seconds' silence, the dog growled at twitched, but the moment Hermione began to play, it fell back into its deep sleep.**_

_**Harry climbed over it and looked down through the trapdoor. There was no sign of the bottom.  
He lowered himself through the hole until he was hanging on by his fingertips. Then he looked up at Ron and said, "If anything happens to me, don't follow.**_

Lily gasped and Peter hid his head under a cushion again.

_**Go straight to the owelry and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, right?"  
"Right," said Ron.  
"See you in a minute, I hope ..."  
And Harry let go.**_

Everyone waited nervously for Sirius to continue.

_**Cold, damp air rushed past him as he fell down, down, down and -  
FLUMP.**_

_**With a funny sort of thump he landed on something soft.**_

Everyone looked relieved at this, but the girls suddenl started frowning.

"What is wrong?"

"We have a bad feeling." Narcissa said.

"There could be something to it, le tus not forget that Fluffy…it is still strange to say the name, well he isn't the only protection." Severus said and the others looked also worried.

_**He sat up and felt around, his eyesnot used to the gloom. It felt as though he was sitting on some sort of plant.  
"It's OK!" he called up to the light the size of a postage stamp which was the open trapdoor. "It's a soft landing, you can jump!"  
Ron followed straight away. He landed sprawled next to Harry.  
"What's this stuff?" were his first words.  
"Dunno, sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall.**_

"Ugh…I have a bad feeling about this…"

"Could this be Professor Sprout's protection?" Alice asked.

"Uh, oh…"

_**Come on, Hermione!"**_

_**The distant music stopped. There was a loud bark from the dog, but Hermione had already jumped. She landed on Harry's other side.**_

_**"We must be miles under the school," she said.**_

_**"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," said Ron.**_

_**"Lucky!" shrieked Hermione. "Look at you both!"**_

"Oh no…"

"Alice what is wrong?" James asked.

"It must be a Devil's Snare!" she yelled panicked, the others paling.

_**She leapt up and struggled towards a damp wall. She had to struggle because the moment she had landed, the plant had started to twist snake-like tendrils around her ankles. As for Harry and Ron, their legs had already been bound tightly in long creepers without their noticing.**_

_**Hermione had managed to free herself before the plant got a firm grip on her.**_

"Sounds really like a Devil's Snare," muttered James, frowning.

_**now she watched in horror as the two boys fought to pull the plant off them, but the more they strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound round them.**_

"Alice what should they do?" Frank asked worried.

"They need to stop moving or they need to make light somehow, the Devil's Snare likes the darkness and damp places, but the light is hurting it." Alice said.

_**"Stop moving!" Hermione ordered them. "I know what this is - it's Devil's Snare!"**_

"Please do something!" Peter yelled panicked as he his himself behind James.

_**"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Ron, leaning back, trying to stop the plant curling around his neck.**_

_**"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" said Hermione.**_

_**"Well, hurry up, I can't breathe!" gasped Harry, wrestling with it as it curled around his chest.**_

Lily began shaking and James put an arm around her.

_**"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare ... What did Professor Sprout say? It likes the dark and the damp -"**_

_**"So light a fire!" Harry choked.**_

"Yes pleasae do it!" Molly yelled while gripping Arthur's arm.

_**"Yes - of course - but there's no wood!" Hermione cried, wringing her hands.**_

"Excuse me?" spluttered James. "Is she or is she not a witch with a wand?"

"She really needs to learn how to snap out of her panic in dangerous situations." Narcissa said who was curently sitting between Lucius and Severus and nearly breaking they arms.

_**"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"**_

_**"Oh, right!" said Hermione, and she whipped out her wand, waved it, muttered something and sent a jet of the same bluebell flames she had used on Snape at the plant.**_

"Thanks for the nice reminder that one of my students will set me on fire…" Severus growled.

"Well she thought that you wanted to kill Harry." James said.

_**In a matter of seconds, the two boys felt it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unravelled itself from their bodies and they were able to pull free.**_

_**"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione," said Harry as he joined her by the wall, wiping sweat off his face.**_

_**"Yeah," said Ron, "and lucky Harry doesn't lose his head in a crisis - 'there's no wood', honestly."**_

"Yes we are really lucky with that." Lily said.

"Two protections down and five more to go." Sirius said.

_**"This way," said Harry, pointing down a stone passageway which was the only way on.**_

_**All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downwards and Harry was reminded of Gringotts.**_

_**With an unpleasant jolt of the heart, he remembered the dragons said to be guarding vaults in the wizards' bank. If they met a dragon, a fully grown dragon - Norbert had been enough ...**_

_**"Can you hear something?" Ron whispered.**_

_**Harry listened. A soft rushing and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.**_

_**"Do you think it's a ghost?"**_

_**"I don't know ... sounds like wings to me."**_

"How can Harry be able to tell?" asked Remus, sounding amazed.

"This is something every Seeker learns rather fast." Severus who himself was a Seeker pointed out.

"Wow, I never knew that."

"It is sometimes really helpfull." He said smiling.

_**"There's a light ahead - I can see something moving."**_

_**They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy, wooden door.**_

_**"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" said Ron.**_

_**"Probably," said Harry.**_

_**"They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once ... Well, there's nothing for it ... I'll run."**_

_**He took a deep breath, covered his face with his arms and sprinted across the room. He expected to feel sharp beaks and claws tearing at him any second, but nothing happened.**_

They all looked at each other, puzzled.

_**He reached the door untouched. he puled the handle, but it was locked.**_

"Why am I not surprised."

_**The other two followed him. They tugged and heaved at the door, but it wouldn't budge, not even when Hermione tried her Alohomora Charm.**_

_**"Now what?" said Ron.**_

_**"These birds ... they can't be here just for decoration," said Hermione.**_

_**They watched the birds soaring overhead, glittering - glittering?**_

_**"They're not birds!" Harry said suddenly, "they're keys! Winged keys - look carefully. So that must mean ..."**_

"That must be Professor Flitwick's protection." Lily said gasping.

"I see they need to find the matching key." Remus said.

_**He looked around the chamber while the other two squinted up at the flock of keys. "... yes - look! Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"**_

"Yes, Harry is an excelent flyer!" James yelled happily."

_**"But there are hundreds of them!"**_

_**Ron examined the lock on the door.**__  
__**"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one - probably silver, like the handle."**_

_**They seized a broomstick each and kicked off into the air, soaring into the midst of the cloud of keys. They grabbed and snatched but the bewitched keys darted and dived so quickly it was almost impossible to catch one.**_

_**Not for nothing, though, was Harry the youngest Seeker in a century. He had a knack for spotting things other people didn't. After a minute's weaving about through the whirl of rainbow feathers, he noticed a large silver key that had a bent wing, as if it had already been caught and stuffed roughly into the keyhole.**_

_**"That one!" he called to the others. "That big one - there - no, there - with bright blue wings - the feathers are all crumpled on one side."**_

_**Ron went speeding in the direction that Harry was pointing, crashed into the ceiling and nearly fell off his broom.**_

_**"That one!" he called to the others. "That big one - there - no, there - with bright blue wings - the feathers are all crumpled on one side."**_

_**Ron went speeding in the direction that Harry was pointing, crashed into the ceiling and nearly fell off his broom.**_

"NO MY BABY!!" Molly screamed in horror while Arthur was eating a chocolate frog to stop himself from fainting.

"Ron get down from that broom and let Harry try it." James said.

_**"We've got to close in on it!" Harry called, not taking his eyes off they key with the damaged wing. "Ron, you come up at it from above - Hermione, stay below and stop it going down - and I'll try and catch it. Right, NOW!"**_

_**Ron dived, Hermione rocketed upwards, the key dodged them both and Harry streaked after it; it sped towards the wall, Harry leant forward and with a nasty crunching noise, pinned it against the stone with one hand.**_

"Yes god work son!"

_**Ron and Hermione's cheers echoed around the high chamber.  
They landed quickly and Harry ran to the door, the key struggling in his hand. He rammed it into the lock and turned - it worked.**_

There were more cheers.

_**The moment the lock had clicked open, the key took flight again, looking very battered now that it had been caught twice.**_

_**"Ready?" Harry asked the other two, his hand on the door handle. They nodded. He pulled the door open.**_

Everyone stared anxiously at the book, waiting to know what lies behind it.

_**The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all.**_

_**But as they stepped into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.**_

_**They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone.**_

"Chess?" Sirius asked shocked.

"I would say Professor McGonagall." Severus said.

"Could be, she loves that game."

_**Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. Harry, Ron and Hermione shivered slightly - the towering white chessmen had no faces.**_

Everyone shuddered.

_**"Now what do we do?" Harry whispered.**_

_**"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "We've got to play our way across the room."**_

_**Behind the white pieces they could see another door.  
"How?" said Hermione nervously.**_

_**"I think," said Ron, "we're going to have to be chessmen."  
He walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life.**_

"See," said James. "Transfiguration!"

_**The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron.  
"Do we - er - have to join you to get across?"**_

_**The black knight nodded.**_

_**Ron turned to the other two.  
"This wants thinking about ..." he said. "I suppose we've got to take the place of three black pieces ..."**_

Everyone was looking pale at the book while they grabbed some more chocolate from the bowl which looked like as if Remus would need to re-fill it soon.

_**Harry and Hermione stayed quiet, watching Ron think.**_

_**Finally he said, "Now, don't be offended or anything, but neither of you are that good at chess -"**_

_**"We're not offended," said Harry quickly. "Just tell us what to do."**_

_**"Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you go next to him instead of that castle."**_

_**"What about you?"**_

_**"I'm going to be a knight," said Ron.**_

"Good choice," said Remus.

_**The chessmen seemed to have been listening, because at these words a knight, a bishop and a castle turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board leaving three empty squares which Harry, Ron and Hermione took.**_

_**"White always plays first in chess," said Ron, peering across the board. "Yes ... look ..."  
A white pawn had moved forward two squares.**_

"The game starts…"

_**Ron started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever he sent them. Harry's knees were trembling. What if they lost?**_

"Don't think that, Harry!" cried Lily and most of the boys could have sworn that they heard they arms break from the iron grips of they female friends.

_**"Harry - move diagonally four squares to the right."**_

_**Their first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, face down.**_

"They're literally knocking the pieces off the board!" Narcissa screamed in horror while Lucius's and Severu's faces twisted in painas her grip hardened on they arms. Sirius looking at the two symphatically, Black girls had an unbeliavebly hard iron grip.

_**"Had to let that happen," said Ron, looking shaken. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione, go on."  
Every time one of their men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy.**_

"Well, if McGonagall's transfigured them, they won't!" said James.

_**Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall. Twice, Ron only just noticed in time that Harry and Hermione were in danger.**_

_**He himself darted around the board taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones.**_

"I need to admite that the boy is really good, I'm looking forward to play against him in the future. It could be that we would have soor a three person chess game on our Fridays." Severus said, only partly managing to hold the pain out of his voice.

"Ewww…"

"SIRIUS GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER!!" everyone screamed.

After dodging a five nasty hexes Sirius continued with reading.

_**"We're nearly there," he muttered suddenly. "Let me think - let me think ..."**_

_**The white queen turned her blank face towards him.  
"Yes ..." said Ron softly, "it's the only way ... I've got to be taken."**_

_**"NO!" Harry and Hermione shouted.**_

"NO!" everyone cried.

"PLEASE NO!" Molly screamed while Arthur tried to calm her down, but he was also worried.

_**"That's chess!" snapped Ron. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and she'll take me - that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!"**_

_**"But -"  
"Do you want to stope Snape or not?"  
"Ron -"  
"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!"  
There was nothing else for it.**_

"He is a great boy Molly, we can be proud at him." Arthur said to the sobbing redhead.

_**"Ready?" Ron called, his face pale but determined. "Here I go - now, don't hang around once you've won."**_

"Spoken like a true Gryffindor," said James solemnly.

"And loyal till the end like a Hufflepuff." Alice pointed out.

"Hey did any of you actually ever notice that Gryffindors bravery nearly always bound to deep loyality which is the Hufflepuffs strongest characteristic and Slythrins thirst to prowe themselves is similar to Ravenclaws thirst after knowledge." Lily pointed out.

"Now that you point it out, it is really true." James said in a thoughtfull voice.

"What could that mean?" Alice asked.

No one noticed that Severus paled after Lily's realization and they also failed to notice the cat suddenly looking at them with a mix of a worried and excited gaze.

"Guys should I continue?"

"Yes, after this are three more protections."

**He stepped forward and the white queen pounced. She struck Ron hard around the head with her stone arm and he crashed to the floor-**

"NOOOO!!" everyone screamed.

_**Hermione screamed but stayed on her square - the white queen dragged Ron to one side. He looked as if he'd been knocked out.**_

"He is only knocked out." Arthur said.

_**Shaking, Harry moved three spaces to the left.  
The white king took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet. They had won.**_

Eveyone let out a relieved sigh.

_**The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. With one last desperate look at Ron, Harry and Hermione charged through the door and up the next passageway.  
"What if he's -?"**_

_**"He'll be alright," said Harry, trying to convince himself. "What do you reckon's next?"**_

_**"We've had Sprout's, that was the Devil's Snare - Flitwick must've put charms on the keys - McGonagall transfigured the chessmen to make them alive - that leave's Quirrell's spell, and Snape's ..."**_

"I wonder what I made." Severus asked couriously.

"You are not the only one till now was McGonagall's the strongest protection." James pointed out.

_**They had reached another door.  
"All right?" Harry whispered.**_

_**"Go on."  
Harry pushed it open.  
A disgusting smell filled thir nostrils, making both of them pull their robes up over their noses.**_

"Sounds like another troll," muttered James, wincing.

"How originell from that whimp." Lucius said.

_**Eyes watering, they saw, flat on the floor in front of them, a troll even larger than the one they had tackled, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.**_

"What a great joke so where is the really protection?" Sirius asked.

"Uhm…guys if that was Quirrell's protection then could it be…"

"…HE LET THE TROLL INSIDE!" yelled everyone in realization.

"That little git!"

"Ok who is left till Harry get's to the last task."

"Mine is still there." Severus said.

_**"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one," Harry whispered, as they stepped carefully over one of its massive legs. "Come on, I can't breathe."**_

_**He pulled open the next door, both of them hardly daring to look at what came next - but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.**_

"Aha, that will be easy." James said.

"Knowing Severus it will b e rather hard." Remus said.

_**"Snape's," said Harry. "What do we have to do?"**_

_**They stepped over the threshold and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It wasn't ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onwards. They were trapped.**_

"Wow magicall flames, they can seal everything." Sirius said.

_**"Look!" Hermione seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. Harry looked over her shoulder to read it:**_

_**Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,  
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,  
One among us seven will let you move ahead,  
Another will transport the drinker back instead,  
Two of our number hold only nettled wine,  
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.  
Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,  
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:  
First, however slyly the poison tried to hise  
You will always find some on nettles wine's left side;  
Second, different are those who stand at either end,  
But if you would move onwards, neither is your friend;  
Third, as you see clearly, are all different size,  
Neither dwarf or giant holds death in their insides;  
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right  
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.**_

"Sev, you are absolutely brilliant." Lucius said ina n aved voice.

"Wow, thisd is really great." Lily said while Remus was also looking amaized.

"Thanks guys."

"Erm…we don't get it." James said.

"It is a puzzle which requies logic. This is absolutely brilliant." Remus said.

_**Hermione let out a great sigh and Harry, amazed, saw that she was smiling, the very last thing he felt like doing.**_

"Looks like she has got it."

_"__**Brilliant," said Hermione. "This isn't magic - it's logic - a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here for ever."**_

"I'm happy that she likes it." Severus said in a rather high mode.

_**"But so will we, won't we?"**_

_**"Of course not," said Hermione. "Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely through the black fire and one will get us back through the purple."**_

"Thank Merlin that Hermione's there," said Remus.

"Yes, this is probably the only good thing that Quirrell managed to do." Lily said, the others nodding.

_**"But how do we know which to drink?"**_

_**"Give me a minute."  
Hermione read the paper several times. Then she walked up and down the line of bottled muttering to herself and pointing at them. At last, she clapped her hands.**_

_**"Got it," she said. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire - towards the Stone."  
Harry looked at the tiny bottle.**_

_**"There's only enough there for one of us," he said. "That's hardly one swallow."**_

_**They looked at each other.  
"Which one will get you back through the purple flames?"**_

_**Hermione pointed at a rounded bottle at the right end of the line.  
"You drink that," said Harry.**_

"Oh no…he will go alone…" Lily said worriedly.

_**"No listen - get back and get Ron - grab brooms from the flying-key room, they'll get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy - go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, we need him. I might be able to hold Snape off for a while,**_

_**but I'm no match for him really."**_

_**"But, Harry - what if You-Know-Who's with him?"**_

Everyone paled and started looking nervously at the book.

_**"Well - I was lucky once, wasn't I?" said Harry, pointing at his scar. "I might get lucky again."**_

_**Hermione's lip trembled and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him.**_

"Awww," said Lily. "That's really sweet."

_**"Hermione!"**_

_**"Harry - you're a great wizard, you know."**_

_**"I'm not as good as you," said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.**_

_**"Me!" said Hermione. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things - friendship and bravery and - oh Harry - be careful!"**_

"This is really cute." Narcissa said.

_**"You drink first," said Harry. "You are sure which is which, aren't you?"  
"Positive," said Hermione. She took a drink from the round bottle at the end and shuddered.**_

_**"It's not poison?" said Harry anxiously.**_

_**"No - but it's like ice."**_

_**"Quick, go, before it wears off."**_

_**"Good luck - take care -"**_

_**"GO!"**_

_**Hermione turned and walked straight through the purple fire. Harry took a deep breath and picked up the smallest bottle. He turned to face the black flames.**_

"Good luck, Harry," said Lily and James together.

_**"Here I come," he said and he drained the little bottle in one gulp.**_

_**It was indeed as though ice was flooding his body. He put the bottle down and walked forward; he br aced himself, saw the black flamed licking his body, but couldn't feel them - for a moment ho could see nothing but dark fire - then he was on the other side, in the last chamber.**_

_**There was already someone there - but it wasn't Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort.**_

"Ugh…atleast now we know that it wasn't me."

"Yes, I think I'm starting to understand what the note meant that we should only judge later." Remus said.

"So who wants to read the last chapter?" Sirius asked.

"Uhm…I will…" Lily said as she took the book.

"Ok and I re-full the bowll with chocolate." Remus said.

_To be continued…_


	18. Finally

XVIII. Finally, _The __Man __With __Two __Faces_

* * *

Lily looked down at the chapter title and the little smile she wore faded away, fear written all over her now pale face.

"Lily what is wrong?" Alice asked her friend concerned.

"Oh no…this is the worst chapter title so far!" she said in a trembling voice, worried green eyes fixated at the book she was holding in her trembling hands.

"What is the title?" James asked worried as he scooted nearer to her if she needs him.

At this took Lily a deep breath and grabbed a chocolate bar knowing that she would need it. "The title is _**The Man With Two Faces**_…" she read out-loud and the others all paled, worried gasps filling the ear in the room.

"Ugh…this doesn't sound to good." Sirius said, grin fading from his face.

"I would more likely say this sounds terrible." Peter squeaked in panic.

"Ugh…Lily please start reading." Severus said to his friend.

_**It was Quirrell.**_

"Now Harry really knows that it wasn't me…" Severus said smiling, but you could hear that he was also worried about Harry.

_**"You!" gasped Harry.  
Quirrell smiled. His face wasn't twitching at all.**_

_**"Me," he said calmly. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter."**_

_**"But I thought - Snape -"**_

"Please Harry leave it already…" Severus moaned.

"I felt the same with all that werewolf talking." Remus said in a symphtaticall tone.

_**"Severus?" Quirrell laughed and it wasn't his usual quivering treble, either, but cold and sharp. **_

"Looks like he will improve on his evil laughing." Lucius said.

"Eh…"

"You really should hear him laugh, it is pathetic." Narcissa said sounding a bit annoyed.

"So you are all training your laughing?" Sirius asked confused.

"Well, didn't you notice we all need to fill out a pattern after our sorting." Lucius pointed out. "You Gryffindors need to show always braveness, Hufflepuffs need to be humble, Ravenclaws all-knowing and we Slytherins always cunning, everyone excepts us also to be evil."

"And don't even try to denie it. Everyone thinks that if you get sorted int o Slytherin they are all evil." Severus said.

"That is true, but atleast we know now that you are actually rather nice if someone takes the time to try to get to know you better." Frank said smiling faintly.

"Thanks." Said the three Slytherin.

"I will continue now." Lily said softly, in the little break she could calm down atleast a little bit.

"Ok."

_**"Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he?**_

"Hey! Is it really necessary to rub it in." Severus growled while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

_**So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat.**_

"WHO IS AN OVERGROWN BAT YOU SLIMY LITTLE WHIMP!" Severus roared in anger which would have made poor Neville faint if he would have been already born, while the others were covering they mouths to not laugh at the sentence in fear to feel the wrath of the black haired teen, but what could they do the mental image of Severus flapping around like a bat was to priceless.

"Ok Sev, take deep breaths we will finish him of." Lucius said after he managed to calm himself down, pulling his friend down to sit again near him then Narcissa was still sitting between them.

"He will suffer when I get a hold on him." Severus said as he sat down a menacing, twisted smile on his lips.

"Ugh…I'm starting to feel sorry for that poor guy." Arthur whispered to Frank who nodded in panic, even Sirius and James were thanking the Fates silently that they never managed to get the blackhead that angry or they would be already death.

_**Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?"**_

"Not many people." James said.

"That is true, Snape over here fit the role of the culprit better." Sirius said.

"Why can't everyone dropp it already…" Severus groaned, he had really enough.

_**Harry couldn't take this in. This couldn't be true, it couldn't.**_

_**"But Snape tried to kill me!"**_

"NO I DIDN'T!" he screamed.

"Sev calm down."

_**"No, no, no. I tried to kill you.**_

"I will help Severus murdering that little git." James said while Sirius already smirked diabolically.

"Then stand in the row, no one tries to hurt my baby." Lily growled while glarring at the book.

_**Your friend Miss Granger accidentally knocked me over as she rushed to set fire to Snape at the Quidditch match. She broke my eye contact with you.**_

"God job Hermione." James said.

"Yes it is god that he has her." Sirius said.

_**Another few seconds and I'd have got you off that broom. I'd have managed it before then if Snape hadn't been muttering a counter-curse, trying to save you."**_

Severus suddenly found himself tackled by both Lily and James while the others were staring stunned at him.

"Sev thank you, thank you, you are a wounderfull friend." Lily said happily, tears glittering in her eyes.

"Mate sorry for all the pranks Sirius and I have ever playd on you, really you are a great guy thank you, thank you for saving my son." James said while still hugging the other teen.

"Uhm…you…you are welcome, b…but I…I need to…to breath…" he managed to get out and both imediately let go.

"Wow, erm…Severus I'm also terribly sorry for all my pranks, mostly the one which … erm…you know which one…" Sirius said in an awkward voice, he was never good in apologizing.

"I will continue reading then and Severus many thanks." Lily said as she picked up the book again.

"Yes thanks." James said in a thankfull voice.

"You are welcome." Severus said while still taking air unregularry.

_**"Snape was trying to save me?"**_

"Don't worry Harry, we were also stunned about that." Sirius said grinning.

"But we are all thankfull for that." Molly said.

_**"Of course," said Quirrell cooly. "Why do you think he wanted to referee your next match?**_

"So that was why?"

"Severus you are great." Frank said and Severus knew that he couldn't take so much thankfulness anymore.

_**He was trying to make sure I didn't do it again. Funny, really ... he needn't have bothered. I couldn't do anything with Dumbledore watching. All the other teachers thought Snape was trying to stop Gryffindor winning, he did make himself unpopular...**_

"Yes no one is dumb enough to do anything bad right before Dumbledore's nose. As for the other thing, well sadly his future character is in some rather big ways our work…" James said in a sad tone, he really started to regret they pranks on the Slytherin.

_**and what a waste of time, when after all that, I'm going to kill you tonight."**_

"ONLY OVER MY DEATH BODY WILL YOU TOUCH MY SON!" both Lily and James roared, but then looked down saddly as they remembered that they were not there for they son anymore, they can't be there for him even if they wanted.

"Don't worry, there are seven books equall to the seven years in Hogwarts, that means that Harry will live." Narcissa said.

"That is true…" Lily said while wipping away a tear.

_**Quirrell snapped his fingers. Ropes sprang out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Harry.  
"You're too nosy to live, Potter. Scurrying around the school at Hallowe'en like that, for all I knew you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone."**_

"Git, he was the one who lett he troll in…" Sirius growled.

_**"You let the troll in?"**_

_**"Certainly. I have a special gift with trolls**_

"Ewww…and he dare to say something in front of a child…" Sirius said before he was hit by a big amount of cushions.

"SIRIUS!" everyone screamed while looking at him in disgust.

_**- you must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there? Unfortunately, while everyone else was running about looking for it, Snape, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off -**_

"You were always good in finding out what people are planning." Lucius said to his friend.

_**and not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, **_

"No one can beat a Potter!" James exclaimed.

_**that three-headed dog didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off properly."**_

"It should have bitten yours off or better your head." Sirius snapped while the tree Slytherin were glarring at the book.

_**"Now, wait quietly, Potter. I need to examine this interesting mirror."**_

"Mirror?" everyone asked confused.

"You don't think that…" Narcissa started.

"…that is only a coincidence." James said.

_**It was only then that Harry realised what was standing behind Quirrell. It was the Mirror of Erised.**_

"So much about coincidence…" Remus said.

"So this is Dumbledore's protection, but I don't get it."

"We neither…"

_**"This mirror is the key to finding the Stone," Quirrell murmered, tapping his way around the frame. "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this ...**_

"Which was a great idea."

_**but he's in London ... I'll be far away by the time he gets back ..."**_

_**All Harry could think of doing was to keep Quirrell talking and stop him concentrating on the Mirror.**_

_"Good plan, Harry," said James._

_**"I saw you and Snape in the Forest -" he blurted out.**_

_**"Yes," said Quirrell idly, walking around the Mirror to look at the back. "He was on to me by that time, trying to find out how far I'd got. He suspected me all along. Tried to frighten me - as though he could, when I had Lord Voldemort on my side ..."**_

Everyone stared with horror filled eyes at the book.

"Guys I fear I figured the title out, but I wish I didn't…" SDeverus said in a sheking voice, loooking paler then ever.

_**Quirrell came back out from behind the Mirror and stared hungrily into it.  
"I see the Stone ... I'm presenting it to my master ... but where is it?"**_

_**Harry struggled against the ropes binding him, but they didn't give. He had to keep Quirrell from giving his whole attention to the Mirror.**_

_**"But Snape always seemed to hate me so much."**_

"Uhm Harry…sorry about that…" James said.

_**"Oh, he does," said Quirrell casually, "Heavens, yes. He was at Hogwarts with your father, didn't you know? They loathed each other.**_

"This is a nice understatement." Remus pointed out.

_**But he never wanted you dead."**_

"And that is a great thing to know." Sirius said.

_**"But I heard you a few days ago, sobbing - I thought Snape was threatening you ..."**_

_**For the first time, a spasm of fear flitted across Quirrell's face.  
"Sometimes," he said, "I find it hard to follow my master's instructions - he is a great wizard and I am weak -"**_

"Always were and always will be." Lucius said in a stern voice.

_**"You mean he was there in the classroom with you?" Harry gasped.**_

_**"He is with me wherever I go," said Quirrell quietly.**_

At that everyone grabbed a peace of chocolate and started eating it hurriedly.

"I…I…don…don't like the…the so…sound of…of this…" Peter stuttered in panic.

"You are not the only one don't liking this." James said.

_**"I met him when I travelled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil.**_

"Why do I think Voldemort's were more ridiculous." Severus growled, voice fillet with bitterness and disgust.

"Uhm…Sev are you ok?" Lucius asked his friend confused, the others only tared at him.

"Yes I'm ok." He said quickly and tried to look normal while Phineas threw a glance at the cat.

_**Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was.**_

At that everyone laughed bitterly.

"That guy is relly an idiot." Sirius said.

_**There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it ...**_

"YOU ARE WRONG!" they all yelled in union.

"There was always good and evil, they need each other to exist." Narcissa said as she remembered the long forgotten words from her oldest sister Andromeda when they talked with each other the last time before she left. "They can also change is you change the perspective."

"Wow, how do you know that?" Alice asked.

"Andromeda told me before she left…" she said a bit saddly.

"Andromeda?" Lily asked.

"Cissa has two older sisters twins actually, Bellatrix she left school one year ago and Andromeda who is the oldest she was abounded by our family becouse she dared to marry a muggle named Ted Tonks, they have also a one years old daughter Nymphadora, I don't know what hzas gotten in to Dromeada to name her that." Sirius explained.

"Wait Sirius, Andromeda has a child?" Narcissa asked suddenly.

"Yes, you and Bella are aunts and I'm in a way a cousin-uncle." Sirius said as he hugged his cousin who had tears in her eyes. Not manny knew, but Narcissa was always rather close to her oldest sister, she was her idol, beautiful, powerful, determinded, calm, inteligent. It nearly broke her when she was disowned becouse she fell in love with a muggle, Narcissa couldn't understand.

"Tell me if I should continue." Lily said softly, touched by the moment shared between the two cousins.

"Are you alright now Cissa?" Sirius asked softly as he whipped away five tears from her check.

"Yes, thank you Siri…" she said as she sat back down beside Lucius who wrapped one arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.

"Lily, you can continue." Sirius said after sitting back down beside Rumus.

"Ok."

_**Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. he has had to be very hard on me." Quirrell shivered suddenly.**_

"I hope it hurt," snarled Sirius viciously.

_**"He does not forgive mistakes easily.**_

"What a big surprise." Frank said sarcastically.

_**When I failed to steal the Stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me ... decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me ..."**_

"Wow, atleast we need to ive itt o him that he managed to break inside Gringotts and get out alive." Sirius pointed out, how how he will wonder after reading the third book.

_**Quirrell's voice tailed away. Harry was remembering his trip to Diagon Alley - how could he have been so stupid? He'd seen Quirrell there that very day, shaken hands with him in the Leaky Cauldron.**_

"You couldn't know Harry." Remus said.

_**Quirrell cursed under his breath.**_

"DON'T DARE TO USE SUCH A LANGUAGE IN FRONT OF A CHILD!" the girls scremed in anger while the boy all flinched.

_**"I don't understand ... is the Stone inside the Mirror? Should I break it?"  
Harry's mind was racing.**_

_**What I want more than anything else in the world at the moment, he thought, is to find the Stone before Quirrell does. So if I look in the Mirror, I should see myself finding it - which means I'll see where it's hidden! But how can I look without Quirrell realising what I'm up to?**_

_**He tried to edge to the left, to get in front of the glass without Quirrell noticing, but the ropes round his ankles were too tight: he tripped and fell over.**_

_**Quirrell ignored him. He was still talking to himself.  
"What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!"**_

Everyone stared wide eyed at the book and grabbed some more chocolate.

_**And to Harry's horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself.  
"Use the boy ... use the boy ..."**_

"NO LEAVE MY SON ALONE!" both Lily and James screamed in horror, the others staring at the book in fear and worry.

_**Quirrell rounded on Harry. "Yes - Potter - come here."**_

_**He clapped his hands once and the ropes binding Harry fell off. Harry got slowly to his feet.**_

_**"Come here," Quirrell repeated. "Look in the Mirror and tell me what you see."**_

_**Harry walked towards him.  
"I must lie," he thought desperately. "I must look and lie about what I see, that's all."**_

_**Quirrell moved close behind him. Harry breathed in the funny smell that seemed to come from Quirrell's turban.**_

Peter let out a scream while the other looked slightly pale.

_**He closed his eyes, stepped in front of the Mirror and opened them again.  
He saw his reflection, pale and scared-looking at first. But a moment later, the reflection smiled at him. It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone.**_

"The Philosopher's Stone!" everyone cried.

_**It winked and put the Stone back in its pocket - and as it did so, Harry felt something heavy drop into his real pocket. Somehow - incredibly - he'd got the Stone.**_

_**"Well?" said Quirrell impatiently. "What do you see?"**_

_**Harry screwed up his courage.  
"I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore," he invented. "I - I've won the House Cup for Gryffindor."**_

"A plausible lie, seeing as how he lost all those points," said Remus.

"True, hope that git buys it and Harry can run away."

_**Quirrell cursed again.**_

"Stop that!"

_**Get out of the way," he said. As Harry moved aside he felt the Philosopher's Stone against his leg. Dare he make a break for it?**_

"YES!" yelled James.

_**But he hadn't walked five paces before a high voice spoke, though Quirrell wasn't moving his lips.  
"He lies ... He lies ..."**_

"Damn!' cursed Sirius.

"I have the bad feeling that Voldermort also knows Legimency." Severus said and everyone stared worried at each other.

"Not good…"

_**"Potter, come back here!" Quirrell shouted. "Tell the truth! What did you just see?"**_

_**The high voice spoke again.  
"Let me speak to him ... face to face ..."**_

The air inside the room filled with heavy fear and worry.

_**"Master, you are not strong enough!"**_

_**"I have strength enough ... for this ..."  
Harry felt as if the Devil's Snare was rooting him to the spot. He couldn't move a muscle.**_

"Run, Harry!" cried Lily. "Don't just stand there!"

_**Petrified, he watched as Quirrell reached up and began to unwrap his turban.**_

_**What was going on? The turban fell away. Quirrell's head looked strangely small without it. Then he turned slowly on the spot.**_

Everyne pulled closer to the other, shaking in fear.

**Harry would have screamed, but he couldn't make a sound. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face Harry had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and sltis for nostrils, like a snake.**

Suddenly everyone screamed in horror and eat quickly some chocolate so that they don't fain, but one thing was sure, they would need to sleep tonight close to each other in they dorminities or by the three Slytherin in they common room becouse it was sure that they would have nightmares after this.

_**"Harry Potter ..." it whispered.**_

"This is so wrong on many levels…" James said while holding Lily close as she continued in a shaking voice.

_**Harry tried to take a step backwards but his legs wouldn't move.  
"See what I have become?" the face said. "Mere shadow and vapour ... I have form only when I can share another's body ... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds ... Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks ... you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the Forest ... and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own ...**_

_**Now ... why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?"**_

_**So he knew. The feeling suddenly surged back into Harry's legs.**_

"Good," said Lily. "Run, Harry!"

_**He stumbled backwards.  
"Don't be a fool," snarled the face. "Better save your own life and join me ...**_

"HARRY WILL NEVER JOIN YOU!!" everyone screamed.

_**or you'll meet the same end as you parents ... they died begging me for mercy ..."**_

"THAT IS A LIE!"

"Lily and James would have never begged for they lives to a a scum like you." Lucius said.

"I agree this is more ridiciolus hen them daying in a car crash." Remus growled in a wolf like maner.

_**"LIAR!" Harry shouted suddenly.  
Quirrell was walking backwards at him, so that Voldemort could still see him. The evil face was now smiling.**_

"Ugh…now that must look disgusting…"

"We agree Sirius."

_**"How touching ..." it hissed. "I always value bravery ... Yes, boy, you're parents were brave ... I killed your father first and he put up a courageous fight ...**_

"Nice to know." James said sadly.

"We alws knew that you would fight."

_**but your mother needn't have died ...**_

"WHAT!" everyone yxelled shocked and Lily nearly dropped the book.

"I…I needn't ha…have to die…?" Lily asked shocked.

"I don't understand, why would have Voldemort want to spear you?" Alice asked confused.

"Maybie one of the other books will answer the question." Seveus said and the others nodded.

_**she was trying to protect you ...**_

"Well of course, every mother protects her child." Molly said.

_**Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."**_

_**"NEVER!"  
Harry sprang towards the flame door, but Voldemort screamed, "SEIZE HIM!" and, next second, Harry felt Quirrell's hands close on his wrist.**_

_**At once, a needle-sharp pain seared scross Harry's scar; his head felt as though it was about to split in two; he yelled, struggling with all his might, and to his surprise, Quirrell let go of him.**_

"Strange, why did he let go suddenly?" Remus asked.

_**The pain in his head lessened - he looked around wildly to see where Quirrell had gone and saw him hunched in pain, looking at his fingers - they were blistering before his eyes.**_

"How did he do that?" Lucius asked amazed at this.

"Wow, my son is incredible." James said.

_**"Seize him! SEIZE HIM!" shrieked Voldemort again and Quirrell lunged, knocking Harry clean off his feet, landing on top of him, both hands round Harry's neck -**_

"Get off my son!" snapped Lily, no one touched her son.

_**Harry's scar was almost blinding him with pain, yet he could see Quirrell howling in agony.**_

_**Master, I cannot hold him - my hands - my hands!"  
And Quirrell, though pinning Harry to the ground with his knees, let go of his neck and stared, bewildered, at his own palms - Harry could see they looked burnt, raw, red and shiny.**_

"Wonderfull."

_**"Then kill him, fool, and be done!"screetched Voldemort.  
Quirrell raised his hand to perform a deadly curse, but Harry, by instinct, reached up and grabbed Quirrell's face -"AAARGH!"**_

_**Quirrell rolled off him, his face blistering, too, and then Harry knew: Quirrell couldn't touch his bare skin, not without suffering terrible pain-**_

_**his only chance was to keep hold of Quirrell, keep him in enough pain to stop him doing a curse.**_

"Severus, Dumbledore one of you please get to Harry quickly to save him." Lily said anoxiously.

**Harry jumped to his feet, caught Quirrell by the arm and hung on as tight as he could.**

**Quirrell screamed and tried to throw Harry off - the pain in Harry's head was building - he couldn't see - he could only hear Quirrell's terrible shrieks and Voldemort's yells of "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!" and other voices, maybe in Harry's own head, crying, "Harry! Harry!"**

**He felt Quirrell's arm wrenched from his grasp, knew all was lost, and fell into blackness, down ... down ... down ...**

"NO!" yelled Lily, tears in her eyes.

"Lily calm down, he will be fine." Severus said softly.

_**Something gold was glinting just above him.**_

_**The Snitch! He tried to catch it, **_

"He is definiately your son James." Frnk said grinning.

_**but his arms were too heavy.**_

_**He blinked. It wasn't the Snitch at all. It was a pair of glasses. How strange.**_

_**He blinked again. The smiling face of Albus Dumbledore swam into view above him.  
"Good afternoon, Harry," said Dumbledore.**_

"Leave itt o the Headmaste to sayx such a thing to person who just got aíway from Voldemort." Sirius said grinning as relief washed over everyone nowe that they knew that Harry was ok.

_**Harry stared at him. Then he remembered. "Sir! The Stone! It was Quirrell! he's got the Stone! Sir, quick -"  
"Calm yourself, dear boy, you are a little behind the times," said Dumbledore. "Quirrell does not have the Stone."  
"Then who does? Sir, I -"  
"Harry, please relax, or Madame Pomfrey will have me thrown out."**_

"That would interesting to see." said Sirius.

"Yes imagine the Headmaster getting thrown out of the Houspital Wing by th school matron." James said grinning and everyone laughed at the image.

_**Harry swallowed and looked around him. He realised he must be in the hospital wing. He was lying in a bed with white linen sheets and next to him was a table piled high with what looked like half the sweet-shop.  
"Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Dumbledore, beaming.**_

_**"What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows.**_

Everyone laughed at this.

"T..that is… Ho…Hogwarts for you…" Sirius managed to get out as he whipped a tear from his eye.

_**I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a lavatory seat.**_

Everyone burst out laughing again, all fears and worries they went through int he chapter washed away. "Those guys are really great," said James.

"I can so imagine the priceless look on Madam Pomfrey'as face when they tried to bringt that in." Sirius said as he rolled on the ground laughing.

_**No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madame Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygenic, and confiscated it."**_

"Awww…" Sirius whind.

"Ok the next one of us who should land int he Houspital Wing will get a toilet seat from us." James said grinning.

_**"How long have I been here?"  
"Three days. Mr Ronald Weasley and Miss Granger will be most relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried."**_

"Thank Merlin the others are also safe."Molly said relieved that her son was alright.

_**"But sir, the Stone -"**_

_**"I see you are not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone. Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you.**_

"Great!" cried Peter, smiling broadly.

_**I arrived in time to prevent that, although you were doing very well on your own, I must say."**_

"Yes my son impressed Dumbledore." Jameas said proudly.

_**"You got there? You got Hermione's owl?"**_

_**"We must have crossed in mid-air. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you -"**_

_**"It was you."**_

_**"I feared I might be too late."**_

_**"You nearly were, I couldn't have kept him off the Stone much longer -"**_

_**"Not the Stone, boy, you - the effort involved nearly killed you.**_

Lily gasped before she countinued, the others looking at the book in shock.

_**For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had. As for the Stone, it has been destroyed."**_

"But then that means Flamel will die," said Peter.

"Oh no…"

_**"Destroyed?" said Harry blankly. "But your friend - Nicolas Flamel -"  
"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. "You did do the thing properly, didn't you?**_

_**Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat and agreed it's all for the best."**_

_**"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?"**_

_**"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die."**_

_**Dumbledore smiled at the look of amazement on Harry's face.  
"To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure.**_

"That is a nice way putting it." Remus said, the others nodding.

_**You know, the Stone was really not a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all - the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things which are worse for them."**_

"That is saddly true."

_**Harry lay there, lost for words. Dumbledore hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling.  
"Sir?" said Harry. "I've been thinking ... Sir - even if the Stone's gone, Vol - ... I mean, You-Know-Who -"  
"Call him Voldemort, Harry.**_

_**Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."**_

"Exactly."

_**"Yes, sir. Well, Voldemort's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't gone, has he?"**_

_**"No, Harry, he has not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share ... not being truly alive, he cannot be killed.**_

"That's very scary," muttered Peter.

_**He left Quirrell to die; **_

"Cruel bloody bastard." They all hissed.

_**he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. Nevertheless, Harry, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time - and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."**_

_**Harry nodded, but stopped quickly, because it made his head hurt.**_

_**Then he said, "Sir, there are some things I'd like to know, if you can tell me ... things I want to know that truth about ..."**_

"This'll be intertesting," said James.

"As long as Dumbledore answers." Severus said.

"That is true."

_**"The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."**_

_**"Well ... Voldemort**_

_**said that he only killed my mother because she tried to stop him killing me. But why would he want to kill me in the first place? **_

At that stared everyone anoxiously at the book.

_**Dumbledore sighed very deeply this time.  
"Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you.**_

"Damn!" cursed James.

_**Not today. Not now. You will know, one day ... put it from your mind for now, Harry. When you are older ... I know you hate to hear this ... when you are ready, you will know."**_

_**And Harry knew it was no good to argue.**_

_**"But why couldn't Quirrell touch me?"**_

_**"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realise that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark.**_

_**Not**__**a scar, no visible sign ... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection for ever. It is in your very skin.**_

Everyone smile at this saddly, deeply touched by Dumbledore's words.

"They always say that love is the strongest weapon…" Molly said softly.

_**Quirrell, full of hatred, greed and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."**_

"It is nice to know that I could atleast protect my son." Lily said softly a sad smile playing on her lips.

_**Dumbledore now became very interested in a bird out on the window-sill, which gave Harry time to dry his eyes on the sheet.**_

_**When he had found his voice again, Harry said, "And the Invisibility Cloak - do you know who sent it to me?"**_

"Yeah, we've been wondering," said Remus.

_**"Ah - your father happened to leave it in my possession and I thought you might like it."**_

"I gave it to Dumbledore?" asked James.

_**Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Useful things ... your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here."**_

"That's what he thinks," said James grinning while the Slytherin groaned.

_**"And there's something else ..."**_

_**"Fire away."**_

_**"Quirrell said Snape -"**_

_**"Professor Snape, Harry."**_

_**"Yes, him - Quirrell said he hates me because he hated my father. Is that true?"**_

"Yes, but I think that changed now." Severus said and James gave him a thankfull look.

_**"Well, they did rather detest each other. Not unlike yourself and Mr. Malfoy.**__. __**And then, your father did something Snape could never forgive."**_

At that everyone stared confused at the book.

_**"What?"  
"He saved his life."**_

"I think he is refering to that Whoopin Willow accident last year." James said in a thoughtfull voice.

"You mean Sirius's attempted murderer on Severus." Lucius said.

"Erm…oh yes sorry for that one back then…" Sirius said.

"Appologie accepted." Severus said as he held his hand out, Sirius took it grinning.

_**"What?"  
"Yes ..." said Dumbledore dreamily. "Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt ... I do believe he worked so hard to protect you this year because he felt that would make him and your father quits.**_

_**Then he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace ..."**_

"Now that hurt…" James said whil3e the others laughed.

_**Harry tried to understand this but it made his head pound, so he stopped.**_

_**"And, sir, there's one more thing ..."**_

_**"Just the one?"**_

_**"How did I get the Stone out of the Mirror?"**_

_**"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone - find it, but not use it - would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life.**_

"Wicked"

_**My brain surprises even me sometimes ... Now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit flavoured one,**_

"Ugh!" everyone cried.

_**and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them - but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?"  
He smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth. Then he choked and said, "Alas! Earwax!"**_

"Ugh," said everyone again, laughing at the same time.

"Poor Dumbledore," said Remus.

_**"Absolutely not."  
"You let Professor Dumbledore in ..."  
"Well, of course, that was the Headmaster, quite different.**_

"Harry's friends are there." Everyone said smiling.

_**You need rest."**_

_**"I am resting, look, lying down and everything. Oh, go on, Madam Pomfrey ..."**_

_**"Oh, very well," she said. "But five minutes only."**_

_**And she let Ron and Hermione in.  
"Harry!"**_

_**Hermione looked ready to fling her arms around him again, but Harry was glad she held herself in as his head was still very sore.  
"Oh, Harry, we were sure you were going to - Dumbledore was so worried -"**_

_**"The whole school's talking about it," said Ron. "What really happened?"**_

_**It was one of those rare occasions when the true story is even more strange and exciting than the wild rumours. Harry told them everything; Quirrell; the Mirror; the Stone and Voldemort. Ron and Hermione were a very good audience; they gasped in all the right places and, when Harry told them what was under Quirrell's turban, Hermione screamed out loud.**_

_**"So the Stone's gone?" said Ron finally. "Flamel's just going to die?"**_

_**"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that - what was it? - 'to the well organised mind, death is but the next great adventure'."**_

_**"I always said he was off his rocker," said Ron, looking quite impressed at how mad his hero was.**_

There were chuckles from everyone.

_**"So what happened to you two?" said Harry.  
"Well I got back all right," said Hermione. "I brought Ron round - that took a while - and we were dashing up to the owlery to contact Dumbledore when we mwt him in the Entrance Hall. He already knew - he just said, 'Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?' and hurtled off to the third floor."**_

_**"D'you think he meant you to do it?" said Ron. "Sending you your father's Cloak and everything?"  
"Well," Hermione exploded, "if he did - I mean to say - that's terrible - you could have been killed."**_

"Exactly my point!" cried Lily.

_**"No, it isn't," said Harry thoughtfully. "He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident he let me find out how the Mirror worked. It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could ..."**_

_**"Yeah, Dumbledore's barking, all right," said Ron proudly. "Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course - you missed the last Quidditch match, we were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without you - but the food'll be good."**_

"Isn't the last Quidditch match before exams?" asked James, puzzled.

"They could have changed that." Remus said.

_**At that moment, Madam Pomfrey bustled over.  
"You've had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT!" she said firmly.**_

_**After a good night's sleep, Harry felt nearly back to normal.**_

_**"I want to go to the feast," he told Madam Pomfrey as she straightened his many sweet-boxes. "I can, can't I?"**_

_**"Professor Dumbledore says you are allowed to go," she said sniffily, as though in her opinion Professor Dumbledore didn't realise how risky feasts could be. "And you have another visitor."**_

_**"Oh good," said Harry. "Who is it?"**_

_**Hagrid sidled through the door as he spoke. As usual when he was indoors, Hagrid looked too big to be allowed. He sat down next to Harry, took one look at him and burst into tears.**_

"That is so sweet," said Lily, smiling.

_**"It's - all - my - ruddy - fault!" he sobbed, his face in his hands. "I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thing he didn't know an' I told him!**_

"That is ok, we forgive you."

**Yeh could've died! All fer a dragon egg! I'll never drink again!**

**I should be chucked out an' made ter live as a Muggle!"**

"Okay, that's a bit harsh," said James.

_**"Hagrid!" said Harry, shocked to see Hagrid shaking with grief and remorse, great tears leaking down into his beard.**_

_**"Hagrid, he'd have found out somehow, this is Voldemort we're talking about, he'd have found out even if you hadn't told him."**_

_**"Yeh could've died! sobbed Hagrid. "An' don' say the name!"**_

_**"VOLDEMORT!" Harry bellowed, and Hagrid was so shocked, he stopped crying.**_

_**"I've met him and I'm calling him by his name. Please cheer up, Hagrid, we saved the Stone, it's gone, he can't use it. Have a Chocolate Frog, I've got loads ..."**_

_**Hagrid wiped his nose on the back of his hand and said, "That reminds me. I've got yeh a present."**_

"What could it be?" Sirius asked.

"Please let it be nothing dangerous." Lily said.

_**"It's not a stoat sandwich, is it?" said Harry anxiously and at last Hagrid gave a weak chuckle.**_

_**"'Nah. Dumbledore gave me the day off yesterday ter fix it. 'Course, he shoulda sacked me instead - anyway, got yeh this ..."**_

_**It seemed to be a handsome, leather-covered book. Harry opened it curiously. It was full of wizard photographs. Smiling and waving at him from every page were his mother and father.**_

"What a wonderful present," muttered James, touched.

_**"Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos ...**_

"That is a wounderfull idea."

_**Knew yeh didn' have any ... D'yeh like it?"  
Harry couldn't speak, but Hagrid understood.**_

_**Harry made his way down to the end-of-year feast alone that night. He had been held up by Madam Pomfrey's fussing-about, insisting on giving him one last check-up, so the Great Hall was already full. It was decked out in the Slytherin colours of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning the House Cup for the seventh year in a row.**_

They all groaned while the Slytherin cheered.

_**A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table.**_

"It looks always beautiful."

_**When Harry walked in there was a sudden hush and then everybody started talking loudly at once. He slipped into a seat between Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table and tried to ignore the fact that people were standing up to look at him.**_

_**Fortunately, Dumbledore arrived moments later. The babble died away.**_

_**"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are a little fuller than they were ... you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before the next year starts ...**_

_**"Now, as I understand it, the House Cup here needs awarding and the points stand thus: in fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points;**_

"That's terrible!" said James.

_**in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw have four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."**_

_**A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. Harry could see Draco Malfoy banging his goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight.**_

_**"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."**_

"What?"

_**The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little.  
"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes ...  
"First - to Mr Ronald Weasley ..."**_

_**Ron went purple in the face; he looked like a radish with bad sunburn.**_

_**"... for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."**_

Both Arthur and Molly looked proud.

_**Gryffindor cheers nearly reached the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Percy could be heard telling the other Prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"**_

_**At last there was silence again.  
"Second - to Miss Hermione Granger ... for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."**_

_**Hermione buried her face in her arms; Harry strongly suspected she had burst into tears. Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves - they were a hundred points up.**_

_**"Third - to Mr. Harry Potter ..." said Dumbledore. "... for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."**_

_**The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor now had four hundred and seventy-two points - exactly the same as Slytherin.**_

"Wow that never happened befrore."

_**They had drawn for the House Cup - if only Dumbledore had given Harry just one more point.  
Dumbledore raised his hand. The room gradually fell silent.**_

_**"There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."**_

"THAT'S OUR SON!" both Alice and Frank yelled cheerfully.

_**Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table. Harry, Ron and Hermione stood up to yell and cheer and Neville, white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging him. He had never won so much as a point for Gryffindor before.**_

_**Harry, still cheering, nudged Ron in the ribs and pointed at Malfoy, who couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified if he'd just had the Body-Bind curse put on him.**_

They all laughed while two certain blonds shook they heads in embrassement.

_**"Which means," Dumbledore called over the storm of applause, for even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin, "we need a little change of decoration."**_

_**He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place. Snape was shaking Professor McGonagall's hand, with a horrible forced smile.**_

"I can understand myself." Severus said.

"That is in a way true, don't you think that Dumbledore was a bit unfair?" Remus asked.

"Whad do you mean?" James asked confused.

"Well, couldn't he do it before the Great Hall was decorated or decorate it only after giving them the points?" he asked.

"Now that you say it this was really a bit unfair."

_**He caught Harry's eye and harry knew at once that Snape's feelings towards him hadn't changed one jot. This didn't worry Harry. It seemed as though life would be back to normal next year, or as normal as it ever was at Hogwarts.**_

_**It was the best evening of Harry's life, better than winning at Quidditch or Christmas or knocking out mountain trolls ... he would never, ever forget tonight.**_

_**Harry had almost forgotten that the exam results were still to come, but come they did. To their great surprise, both he and Ron passed with good marks; Hermione, of course, came top of the year.**_

"Well done, Harry!" said James and Lily together.

_**Even Neville scraped through, his good Herbology mark making up for his abysmal Potions one. They had hoped that Goyle, who was almost as stupid as he was mean, might be thrown out, but he had passed, too.**_

"Then he has thje sme strange gift as his father, I really don't know how he manages it to pass." Lucius said.

_**It was a shame, but as Ron said, you couldn't have everything in life.**_

_**And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed, Neville's toad was found lurking in a corner of the toilets; notes were handed out to all students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays (I always hope they'll forget to give us these," said Fred Weasley sadly); Hagrid was there to take them down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the lake; they were boarding the Hogwarts Express; talking and laughing as the country-side became greener and tidier; eating Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans as they sped past Muggle towns; pulling off their wizard robes and putting on jackets and coats; pulling into platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross Station.**_

_**It took a while for them all to get off the platform. A wizened old guard was up by the ticket barrier, letting them go through the gate in twos and threes so they didn't attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles.**_

"It'd be pretty funny though," said Sirius, grinning.

_**"You must come and stay this summer," said Ron, "both of you - I'll send you an owl."**_

_**"Thanks," said Harry. "I'll need something to look forward to."**_

_**People jostled them as they moved forwards towards the gate-way back to the Muggle world. Some of them called:  
"Bye, Harry!"  
"See you, Potter!"**_

_**"Still famous," said Ron grinning at him.**_

_**"Not where I'm going, I promise you," said Harry.**_

_**He, Ron and Hermione passed through the gateway together.**_

_**"There he is, Mum, there he is, look!"**_

_**It was Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, but she wasn't pointing at Ron.**_

_**"Harry Potter!" she squealed. "Look, Mum! I can see -"**_

_**"Be quiet, Ginny, and it's rude to point."**_

"Aww…she is such an addorable little girl Molly." Lily said.

"Lily if you want we can also have a daughter."

"Eww…Potter it will already be horrible enough the first time…" Lily said disgusted as she pushed a gapping James away.

"Bu…but Lily…" he said shocked as the redhead suddenly bust out laughing.

"I…I wa…was joking…" she mnaged to say in her laughter while the others were already rolling ont he floor laughing.

"Prongs mate…yo…you should have seen yo…your face…it wa…was priceless!" Sirius said between laughter.

"Really funny guys." James growled while blushing.

_**Mrs. Weasley smiled down at them.**_

_**"Busy year?" she said.**_

_**"Very," said Harry. "Thanks for the fudge and the jumper, Mrs. Weasley."**_

_**"Oh, it was nothing, dear."**_

_**"Ready, are you?"**_

_**It was Uncle Vernon, still purple-faced, still moustached, still looking furious at the nerve of Harry, carrying an owl in a cage in a station full of ordinary people. Behind him stood Aunt Petunia and Dudley, looking terrified at the very sight of Harry.:D**_

James and the others grinned.

_**"You must be Harry's family!" said Mrs Weasley.**_

_**"In a manner of speaking," said Uncle Vernon. "Hurry up, boy, we haven't got all day." He walked away.**_

_**Harry hung back for a last word with Ron and Hermione.**_

_**"See you over the summer, then."**_

_**"Hope you have - er - a good holiday," said Hermione, looking uncertainly after Uncle Vernon, shocked that anyone could be so unpleasant.**_

_**"Oh, I will," said Harry, and they were surprised at the grin that was spreading over his face.**_

"What?" asked James.

_**"They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer ..."**_

They all laughed at it.

"So this was the end." Lily said as she closed the book.

"I'm courious as to when the next one will appear." Sirius said.

"I think it was good that we ll were hear to read this, it made us understand each other better and we also had fun." Narcissa said.

"That is true."

"Children the next book will appear next week, and you have still an hour before lunch." Phineas's portrait said.

"Well then guys you remember what we said about that snowball fight." Frank said grinning.

"Children no…not in here… don't dare…" but Phineas was ignored and a snowball nearly hit his portrait.

Meanwhile no one noticed that there was one other portrait watching them smiling. The young woman let out a soft giggle as she left her frame to go to the other frame int he other room which was behind the door on the right wall. The other room was a luxuriously decorated bedroom.

"Why is there still this racket?" sneered a silky male voice from the other portrait in the room.

"They are having a snowball fight." The black haired woman said, a little smile on her lips.

"They what!" the man groweled.

"Salazar calm down, oh by the way I have seen him." She said with a knowing smile.

"I see." The black haired man said.

"You are in a way similar in appearance, but he has also some personality traits from me." Rowena Ravenclaw said smiling as she entered the frame of the other Founder. "Meibye history will not repeat itself." She said softly as she felt two arms wrapping round her.

One hour later was the group making they way int o the Great Hall, but when they entered turned all eyes in they direction, some were gapping while others spit the food or drinks at the ones sitting opposite to them.

"What is wrong?" Sirius asked as suddenly some students let out wolf wistles while others tryed to not laugh.

"Wow James, Sirius never knew that you were so hot!" yelled suddenly a young Ravenclaw boy and only now did James and Sirius notice that they were still wearing the dresses and make up the others gaver them.

"NOO!" the two screames in horror.

_Owari _

* * *

A/N: so I hope that you liked the last chapter and thanks for everyone who read the story…


End file.
